East Java Prosecutor Seized Rp2.36 Billion in Fines from the Mining Permit Fines Case

Suspect in the case of extortion of mining permits / Antara / Faizal Falakki / vft.)

JAKARTA - The East Java High Prosecutor's Office seized Rp2.36 billion in the case of alleged corruption in illegal mining licensing involving local officials from the Energy and Mineral Resources Agency (ESDM).

"From the results of searches at several locations, investigators have secured a number of cash and licensing documents. The money came from the three suspects who have been secured," said East Java High Prosecutor's Special Criminal Assistant Wagiyo, quoted by ANTARA, Friday, April 17.

He explained that the money worth Rp. 2,369,239,765.49 was confiscated from three suspects, namely AM as Head of the East Java ESDM Office, OS as Head of the Mining Division of the East Java ESDM Office, and H as Head of the Water Management Working Group.

From the suspect AM, investigators seized cash amounting to Rp259.10 million, as well as funds in two accounts, namely Rp109.03 million and Rp126.86 million, so that the total reached Rp494.41 million.

Meanwhile, from the OS suspect, cash amounting to Rp1.64 billion was confiscated, while from the H suspect, Rp229.68 million was confiscated which came from one bank account.

In addition to money, investigators also secured a number of electronic evidence, including transfer evidence, WhatsApp conversations, licensing documents, and permit applicants' statements.

Wagiyo added that the suspects would be detained for the next 20 days for the sake of investigation. Investigators are also still developing the case and do not rule out the possibility of new suspects.

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.

The applicant for the permit is said to have encountered obstacles in the process of issuing the permit even though the requirements were complete if they did not give a certain amount of money.