The Southeast Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office Has Determined 1 New Suspect For Alleged Mining Corruption In North Sumatra

The owner of the nickel mining company PT LAM, the initials WAS, was detained by investigators from the Southeast Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office at the Salemba Rutan, Attorney General's Branch after being named a suspect in the alleged corruption case of nickel mining in North Konawe/ANTARA.

The Southeast Sulawesi High Prosecutor's Office (Kejati Sultra) has again named a new suspect on suspicion of corruption in nickel mining that operates in one of the areas of North Konawe Regency (Konut). Assistant for Intelligence (Asintel) of the Southeast Sulawesi Attorney General's Office, Ade Hermawan, said the new suspect had the initials WAS and was the owner of the nickel mining company PT LAM. "After examining as a witness today on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, WAS was named a suspect and detained in a detention center for 20 days by investigators quoted at the Salemba Rutan at the Attorney General's Office and in the near future the detention in question will be transferred to Kendari for investigation," he said in an official statement in Kendari, Antara, Tuesday, July 18. The owner of PT LAM with the initials WAS today was examined in the round building of the Attorney General's Office by investigators from the Southeast Sulawesi High Prosecutor's Office. The examination was carried out in a case of alleged corruption in the mining of nickel ore in the North Konawe Regency area. Ade explained that the alleged corruption case began with operational cooperation (KSO) between PT A and PT LAM and Perusda Sultra/Perusda North Konawe. WAS as the owner of PT LAM is the party who benefits from the criminal act of alleged corruption in nickel mining by selling nickel mining products in the PT A IUP area. WAS allegedly used work plan documents and budget (RKAB) from PT KKP and several other companies around the Mandiano Block as if the nickel did not come from PT A and was sold to several smelters in Morosi, Konawe Regency and Morowali (Central Sulawesi). "This crime continues because of the omission from PT A," said Ade. According to Ade, based on the KSO agreement, all nickel ore mining proceeds in the PT A IUP area should be handed over to PT A and PT LAM only get wages as mining contractors. "But in reality PT LAM employs 39 mining companies as contractors to mine nickel ore and sell mining products using RKAB documents, not original, but fake," explained Ade. In disclosing this case, previously investigators from the Southeast Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office had named four suspects, namely GM PT A initials HW, Director of PT KKP initials AA, Field Implementer of PT LAM initials GL, and Director of PT LAM initials OS. Of the four people, two suspects, the initials GL and HW, have been detained at the Kendari Class IIA Rutan after their status was named a suspect. Meanwhile, the Director of PT LAM with the initials OS has also been arrested in Jakarta and his detention at the Salemba Rutan, the Attorney General's Office.

The Southeast Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office continues to investigate who is involved in the alleged criminal act of mining corruption in one of the areas of North Konawe Regency.