JAKARTA - Freddy Widjaja, who is the son of Eka Tjipta's other wife, Lidia Herawati Rusly, asked President Joko Widodo to consider determining the Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) area, which is owned by the Sinarmas company, as an integrated development area for national strategic projects (PSN). Freddy argued that the determination of BSD was very unworthy as a PSN because Sinarmas is owned by a foreign company located in the Bahamas Islands.
Not only that, Freddy considered that the granting of national strategic projects (PSN) to Sinarmas was a practice of gratitude from the central government. This can be mentioned by Freddy in relation to the existence of a Nusantara consortium in helping to finance the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) project in Kalimantan. "So as a form of nationalism from the conglomerates here (Indonesia-ed) and at the request of President Jokowi to help until a consortium was formed known as the Nusantara Consortium. I think and using logic, this is a gratitude project," said Freddy Widjaja to VOI.
Freddy said that something suspicious about the appointment of BSD to represent Sinarmas Group in obtaining national strategic projects is suspected interference from one of the members of the presidential advisory council named Gandi Sulistianto Soeherman. Freddy explained that Gandi started working at Sinarmas in 1992 and quit after being appointed and inaugurated as ambassador to South Korea.
"Gandi has served in Sinarmas for 30 years and his last position was as Managing Director. And I am currently reporting him because he said that my father (Eka Tjipta) no longer has a single share in Sinarmas. Gandi's statement certainly represents several of my half-brothers who are currently being disputed," said Freddy Widjaja.
Freddy even firmly stated that Gandi's statement as a high-ranking state official was very inappropriate if it was only intended to show his loyalty to the owner of Sinarmas. "Gandi's statement that my father no longer has any shares is slander. I have the evidence and I have reported it to the police. If I don't have evidence then it can be called a hoax, especially since my opponent is a high-ranking state official," said Freddy Widjaja.
Meanwhile, Gandi Sulistiyanto emphasized that he was not in the right position in the family affairs (Eka Tjipta). "Sorry, I am not in a position to respond to (Eka Tjipta's) family matters," said Gandi Sulistiyanto, the man who once served as Sinar Mas Managing Director, Monday afternoon.
BSD PSN Determination Requested to be Reviewed
Freddy Widjaja asked President Joko Widodo to reconsider the determination of BSD's status as one of the PSN. He reasoned that BSD is a public company under the auspices of Sinarmas Property where the leadership is held directly by his two half-brothers, Franky Oesman Widjaja and Muktar Widjaja. As a public company, Sinarmas' annual report can certainly be accessed by the public. On this basis, Freddy asked the central government to recheck the legality and ownership of Sinarmas.
"Please download it all. From the download results, the majority of BSD ownership is owned by Sinarmas Land (the holding company of the Sinarmas property group throughout Indonesia and the world). Now the problem is, who owns Sinarmas Land? Ninety percent of Sinarmas Land's shares are owned by a foreign company whose business location is in the Bahamas," said Freddy Widjaja to VOI.
The Bahamas is one of the countries that adheres to tax haven countries. According to the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2016, tax haven is defined as a country or region that imposes low taxes or no taxes at all in the sense of being tax-free and providing a safe place for savings to attract capital inflows.
Interestingly, in 2019, the largest shareholding of Sinarmas Land was not the same as in 2023, which was owned by PT Lyon Investment. Based on data recorded in the Sinarmas Land annual report, the largest share of Sinarmas Land in 2019 was owned by PT Flamboo International Limited. In addition to the two foreign company names, there is also the name of the company Golden Moment Limited which is located in the Bahamas.
Based on data from every annual report issued, a company as big as Sinarmas Land has one odd word, namely nominees. According to Freddy, this is inappropriate, because the ownership of the company is considered unclear. "From the data that can be easily downloaded and of course they (Sinarmas Land) made it, not me, there is the word nominee in many companies in their stock structure. It would be a shame for Mr. Jokowi if this was allowed. He doesn't know who the real owner of Sinarmas Land is, he only knows the name," said Freddy Widjaja.
Based on data taken from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), PT Lyon Investment is located in the Bahamas. Lyon Investment's company data was taken from the Paradise Papers (2017 & 2018). The Paradise Papers data in the Offshore Leaks database comes from the overseas law firm Appleby and a collection of data from seven company registrations.
In the Sinarmas Land Annual Report 2019 - 2023, the Nominee word is in the third row for CITIBANK NOMINEES SINGAPORE PTE LTD 4%, followed by RAFFLES NOMINEES (PTE) LIMITED with 5% shares with the majority shares and its position at the top is in three companies, Flamboo Internasional Limited, Lyon Investment and Golden Moment.
"And the three foreign companies that obtained majority shares in Sinarmas Land are owned by Franky Oesman Widjaja. And currently Lyon is the largest shareholder of Sinarmas Land with its domicile in the Bahamas. From Golden Moment to Lyon Investment, this is just a change of country, but the pattern remains the same," said Freddy Widjaja.
Nominee Rules in Shares and Shell Companies
Having a company in the Bahamas, entrepreneurs are not required to pay taxes, if there are any rates imposed, they are very low. Because the country gets money from tourists and customs if there are goods entering. You can imagine how much total profit Sinarmas Land has, whose parent company is located in the Bahamas Islands.
Shares with borrowed names or Nominee arrangements are actually not allowed since the enactment of Law No. 25 of 2007 concerning Investment (UUPM). Article 33 paragraph (1) of the UUPM prohibits domestic and foreign investors from making agreements and/or statements that confirm that share ownership in a limited liability company is for and in the name of another person. Article 33 paragraph (2) of the UUPM further stipulates that such agreements are declared null and void by law. This prohibition is also reinforced in Law No. 40 of 2007 concerning Limited Liability Companies (“UUPT”). Article 48 paragraph (1) of the UUPT states that shares are issued in the name of their owner. So, the shares must be in the name of the shareholder, the name of the shareholder cannot be different from the actual owner.
As reported by Hukumonline, shell companies or special purpose vehicles (SPVs) are often associated with business activities that have the potential to violate the law, such as tax evasion, money laundering to hiding/disguising funds from criminal acts, such as corruption, narcotics and other illegal businesses. The perpetrators deliberately set up shell companies just to cover up their crimes.
Banking Law Expert from the University of Indonesia, Yunus Husein said that usually shell companies are established in countries that provide high guarantees of data confidentiality and low tax rates. The laws of these countries also do not require disclosure of the company owner or beneficial owner of the company/assets placed in the region. Some countries that are often mentioned as places where shell companies thrive include the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Panama, Bermuda, Bahamas, Marshall Islands, and Mauritius.
"The seriousness of the government in hunting down Indonesian citizens' assets abroad that are hidden using the shell company method is questionable," said Banking Law Expert Yunus Husein in his written message.
He gave an example when the government promised to investigate Indonesian citizens' assets abroad after the data leak in the Panama Papers case, the results have so far been zero. In fact, the data revealed by the Panama Papers should have been a reference for law enforcement officers to investigate Indonesian citizens' assets abroad. "During the Panama Papers case, the Directorate General of Taxes promised to investigate everything, but that promise was endless and the results were not visible," said Yunus.
Repatriation of Funds
Franky's ingenuity in dealing with alleged tax arrears on domestic money taken abroad, may have started from his arrival to participate in the tax amnesty program in 2016. According to VOI records, Franky Oesman Widjaja visited the office of the Directorate General of Taxes on Friday, September 30, 2016.
On that occasion, Franky Oesman Widjaja said he would bring at least 30-40 percent of the repatriated funds brought in from abroad. Not only that, Franky also explained that the funds he brought from abroad would be put into a certain bank and designated and must be reported annually. "I forgot the exact total. All of that has been recorded and done together with the SPT (Annual Tax Return)," he said.
Franky said that his party would participate in the infrastructure development being carried out by the government. "The government is currently promoting power plans and infrastructure. Sinarmas has a small participation in the consortium," he explained in a written message.
Repatriation of funds is the process of returning accumulated income in the form of assets from abroad to Indonesia. And in the Tax Amnesty Law, the reference to the definition of repatriation is not mentioned at all.
Unfortunately, until this news was published, Questions related to nominee shares of the company and ownership of Sinarmas from foreign capital companies, Franky Oesman Wijaya did not reply or pick up the phone from VOI. Likewise with the former Minister of Industry who is now the Managing Director of Sinarmas Land, Saleh Husin.
Support from the Banten Provincial DPRD
Deputy Chairman of the Banten Provincial DPRD, M Nawa Said spoke out regarding the determination of the BSD Area as one of the National Strategic Projects (PSN). The politician from the Democratic Party believes that the number of people who will benefit from this development will be much greater than those who feel disadvantaged.
"The central government in determining this PSN policy is certainly not arbitrary because it has conducted a study first so that the community can feel the positive impact." said the man who is usually called Caknawa to VOI via his written message, Wednesday, July 23.
"Although it is still in process, there has been an increase in (economic) turnover in Banten, especially in the Tangerang area. And of course this economic growth will be even greater after the PSN carried out by the private sector, one of which is the construction of the Kataraja Toll Road (Kamal-Teluknaga-Rajeg-Balaraja) is completed," he said.
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