Prosecutor General Names Head of East Java Energy and Mineral Resources Office as Suspect of Pungli

The East Java Regional Attorney's Office's Special Criminal Assistant, Wagiyo (second from right), shows evidence of the mining permit extortion case, in Surabaya, East Java, Friday (17/4/2026). ANTARA/Faizal Falakki/vft

SURABAYA - The East Java High Prosecutor's Office has named the Head of the Energy and Mineral Resources Service (ESDM) of the Province of East Java, initials AM, as a suspect in the illegal collection of mining permits.

Assistant Special Criminal Affairs of the East Java Attorney General's Office, Wagiyo, said the determination of the status of the suspect of the Head of the East Java ESDM Office was after conducting an investigation and search at the East Java ESDM Office to the residences of the parties concerned.

"From the results of the examination and collection of evidence, investigators have named three people as suspects," said Wagiyo as reported by ANTARA, Friday, April 17.

In addition to the Head of the ESDM Office, the other two suspects are the Head of the Mining Division of the East Java ESDM Office with the initials OS and the Chairman of the Water Management Working Group with the initials H.

In this case, investigators found that the licensing process, which should have been carried out through the Online Single Submission (OSS) system, was deliberately slowed down.

Applicants for permits who do not provide a certain amount of money experience obstacles in the process of issuing permits, even though the requirements are complete.

He explained that the amount of money requested varied, namely for the extension of the mining permit ranging from Rp. 50 million to Rp. 100 million and a new permit of Rp. 50 million to Rp. 200 million.

Meanwhile, for groundwater business permits, for the extension process, it is requested Rp5 million to Rp20 million per application and for a new permit between Rp50 million to Rp80 million.

The investigator said that the investigation process was carried out quietly since receiving reports from the public, especially the permit applicants.

Based on the report, the team found preliminary evidence of suspected corruption in the licensing issuance process in the environment of the East Java Provincial Energy and Mineral Resources Office.

The alleged violations found include illegal collection practices, gratuities, and extortion by officials at the institution.