Allegedly Losing Hundreds Of Billions Of Countries, Ministry Of Law And Forestry Legal Process Case Of Mentawai Youth Youth Cypora Forest Implementation

Director General of Gakkum Kemenhut Dwi Januanto Nugroho (two right) examined evidence of illegal logging cases in the Sipora Forest, Mentawai Kep. West Sumatra which was transported to Gresik, East Java, Monday (1/12/2025). ANTARA/HO-Kemenhut

The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) continues the legal process of illegal logging in the Sipora Forest area in the Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra, which is estimated to cause state losses of Rp447 billion.

Director of Forestry Crimes at the Ministry of Forestry, Rudianto Saragih Napitu, said the Directorate General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) of the Ministry of Law and the Deputy Attorney General for General Crimes (Jampidum) had appointed the President Director of PT. BRN with the initials IM (29) as a suspect in the illegal logging case in the Mentawai Islands on October 2, 2025 and currently prosecutors and investigators are ready to transfer it to court proceedings.

He said the total potential loss to the state (DR & PSDH) was Rp. 1,443,468,404. The provision of fines for violations does not include environmental losses due to forest damage which has an impact on increasing potential hydrometeorological disasters such as floods, landslides, drought which is nominally large due to felling trees without business permits from the central government by PT. BRN.

Based on a temporary calculation, the total potential loss to the state can reach Rp447,094,787,281.

"PT BRN is strongly suspected of carrying out illegal logging organized in the Sipora Forest from 2022 to 2025, especially in the Tuapejat Village area and Betumonga Village with the mode of cutting wood outside the PLAT, namely in land areas that have not been burdened with rights, even entering the production forest area and manipulating the documents. Legal Forest Products Certificate (SKSHH) so that illegal timber can be seen as legal," said Rudianto in a statement confirmed from Jakarta, Antara, Monday, December 1.

The determination of the suspect began with securing 17 heavy equipment, nine wooden trucks and 2,287 wooden sticks with a total volume of 435.62 cubic meters carried out in the operation of the Forestry Criminal Investigation Directorate Team together with the Garuda PKH Task Force Team.

Then Gakkum Kehutanan in Gresik, East Java on October 11, 2025, again secured one unit of the Tugboat TB. JENEBORA1 along with one unit of the Tongkang TK ship. SANJAYA PLAN carrying 1,199 logs with a volume of 5,342.45 cubic meters.

Director General of Gakkum Kemenhut Dwi Januanto Nugroho in a similar statement said that the action in Mentawai downstream in Gresik was the state's policy to close the gap in forest destruction from upstream to downstream.

"Criminal enforcement runs side by side with controlling licensing and supervision of PBPH holders, accompanied by administrative sanctions to revocation of permits for violators," he said.

At the same time, he said, the Ministry of Transportation encourages the verification of rights in all utilization schemes, so that there is no gap in document falsification or misuse of legal schemes to " whiten" illegal timber.

The Ministry of Transportation itself has frozen a number of Kayu Utilization Approvals in the problematic Land Rights Holders (PHAT) area and requires strict verification of the rights basis by the provincial forestry service.

"In the future, our supervision of PBPH holders and forestry business actors will be tightened based on tracking raw materials (traceability) and measurable compliance. Violations will be subject to layered sanctions," said Dwi Januanto.