Timah Corruption Case, Helena Lim Sued 8 Years In Prison Plus Rp210 Billion Replacement Money

Manager of PT Quantum Skyline Exchange Helena Lim (left) while waiting for the trial to read the allegations of tin corruption at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Thursday (5/12/2024). (ANTARA/Agatha Olivia Victoria)

JAKARTA - Manager of PT Quantum Skyline Exchange Helena Lim was sentenced to 8 years in prison in connection with the alleged corruption case in the management of tin commodity trading in the mining business permit (IUP) area of PT Timah in 2015 '2022.

"We demand that the panel of judges sentence Helena to be legally and convincingly proven guilty of helping to commit a criminal act of corruption and money laundering (TPPU), as in the first primary indictment and the second primary indictment," said Attorney General Ardito Muwardi at the Jakarta Corruption Court., Thursday, December 5th.

In addition to imprisonment, the Public Prosecutor also demanded that the panel of judges punish Helena with a fine of Rp. 1 billion, provided that if the fine was not paid, it would be replaced (subsider) with a one-year imprisonment.

Helena was also charged with additional criminal charges in the form of payment of replacement money amounting to Rp210 billion, taking into account the assets that had been confiscated.

If Helena is unable to pay the replacement money for one month after the decision has permanent legal force, the prosecutor continued, then her property can be confiscated and auctioned off to cover the replacement money.

"In the event that the defendant does not have sufficient assets to pay the replacement money, he will be replaced with imprisonment for four years," said the prosecutor.

In the tin corruption case, Helena was charged with helping the defendant Harvey Moeis as the extension of PT Refined Bangka Tin to collect money from tin corruption amounting to US$30 million or equivalent to Rp420 billion.

The corruption money is thought to have come from the cost of securing processing tools or processing for tin logging of 500 US dollars to 750 US dollars per ton, which seems to be funds for social and environmental responsibility or corporate social responsibility (CSR) of four private smelters from the results of illegal mining in the mining business permit (IUP) area of PT Timah Tbk.

The four private smelters are CV Venus Inti Perkasa, PT Sarijuna Binasentosa, PT Stanindo Inti Perkasa, and PT Tinindo Inter Nusa.

In addition to helping store corruption money, Helena was also charged with money laundering (TPPU) for the profit of managing security costs of Rp900 million, by buying 29 luxury bags, cars, land, and houses to hide the origin of the illicit money.

For his actions, Helena was charged with causing a total loss to the state of Rp. 300 trillion in cases of alleged corruption in the management of tin trading in the PT Timah IUP region in 2015 '2022.