Search Bengkulu Plantation Service Office, Prosecutor's Office Confiscates 12 Suitcases Containing Documents

A search of the Bengkulu/Antara Plantation Office office

JAKARTA - A special criminal investigator team (pidsus) of the Bengkulu High Prosecutor's Office (Kejati) searched the office of the North Bengkulu Regency Plantation Service, Bengkulu Province.

This search is in the context of investigating cases of alleged corruption in the replanting or rejuvenation of oil palm in this area in 2019-2020.

Assistant for Special Crimes (Aspidsus) of the Bengkulu Attorney General's Office, Pandoe Pramoe Kartika, said investigators confiscated hundreds of documents related to the replanting program which cost up to Rp150 billion in 12 suitcases.

"It is true that investigators have raised the status of the alleged corruption case of oil palm replanting in North Bengkulu Regency in 2019-2020 to the investigation stage, and yesterday we conducted a search," said Pandoe in Bengkulu, as reported by Antara, Friday, July 16.

Pandoe said the search was carried out to complete the evidence in this case. The confiscated documents will then be examined and scrutinized by the investigative team.

Pandoe said that his party had obtained strong preliminary evidence of allegations of corruption in the palm oil rejuvenation program which cost Rp150 billion.

Pandoe ensured that investigators would also conduct searches in a number of other places related to the alleged corruption case of the oil palm rejuvenation program in North Bengkulu Regency.

"Thankfully, these parties are cooperative and willing to help investigators collect the required documents. We want to ensure that in this pandemic situation law enforcement continues to run well," he emphasized.

Previously, at the investigation stage, the investigative team had asked for information from dozens of farmer groups who received the 2019-2020 oil palm replanting program and also information from several officials from the North Bengkulu Regency Plantation Service.

The results of the inspection revealed that each farmer group received oil palm rejuvenation assistance of Rp. 25 million per hectare, so the amount of funds received by each farmer group differed depending on the area of land approved by the Director General of Plantations of the Republic of Indonesia.

The oil palm seeds for the replanting program which were distributed to the farmer groups were purchased from a number of palm oil companies in Bengkulu Province and they will also be re-examined as witnesses by the investigative team.