Erick Thohir Has Been Outspoken About Krakatau Steel: Has IDR 31 Trillion In Debt And There Are Indications Of Corruption

Minister of SOEs, Erick Thohir. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of SOEs)

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Erick Thohir, said there were indications of hidden corruption in PT Krakatau Steel (Persero) Tbk (KRAS). The indication is from KRAS's debt which reaches US$ 2 billion or around IDR 31 trillion.

Furthermore, Erick estimates that the past debt may be corruption. He said that the debt came from Krakatau Steel's investment of US$850 million. The company previously invested the funds in a blast furnace project.

"Krakatau Steel has a debt of US$2 billion. One of them is an investment of US$850 million, that is not good, there must be indications of corruption", he said during the online discussion 'Bangkit Bareng', Tuesday, September 28.

Erick said that the Ministry of SOEs would also investigate the alleged crime. Erick said law enforcement for wrong businesses must be corrected.

"And we will pursue anyone who causes harm. Because this is back, it's not that we want to blame, but law enforcement on business processes that we have corrected", he said.

Erick said that over time, the restructuring of Krakatau Steel was going well. The company restructured several stages.

As is known, KRAS has just recorded a profit of IDR 800 billion in the second quarter of 2021. Previously, the issuer had suffered losses for the last 8 years. In 2019, Krakatau Steel recorded a loss of US$503.65 million or equivalent to IDR 7.2 trillion.

In 2020, KRAS recorded a net profit of US$23.67 million, or around IDR 339 billion. That number increased in the second quarter of this year or around IDR 800 billion.

Currently, KRAS is entering the third phase of restructuring after going through the previous two phases. Where, since 2019, management has restructured debt worth US$2.2 billion.