Prosecutors Examine 2 Suspects In PT AMG's Iron Sand Mining Corruption Case

The West Nusa Tenggara High Prosecutor's Special Crime Investigator examined two suspects in the alleged corruption case of an iron sand mine by PT Anugrah Mitra Graha (AMG) in the Dedalpak Block, East Lombok Regency.

Spokesperson for the NTB Prosecutor's Office, Efrien Saputera, said the two suspects undergoing the examination were PSW, Director of PT AMG and RA, Branch Head of PT AMG, East Lombok Regency.

"PSW and RA were examined from this morning starting at 10.00 WITA. After finishing at 15.00 WITA, they were immediately taken to the prison," said Efrien as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, May 8.

Regarding the agenda for the examination of the two who are under one foundation of the company, Efrien was reluctant to explain in detail. He said the agenda for this examination is still in the investigation effort to complete the file.

"The nature is only additional examinations," he said.

He emphasized that the examination of the two suspects had nothing to do with the pretrial hearing of the suspect ZA, the former Head of the NTB Energy and Mineral Resources Service (ESDM), which is currently being processed at the Mataram District Court.

"It has nothing to do with it (the pretrial trial). This is just an additional examination, there are documents that must be completed, that's all," he said.

Investigators have named PSW, RA, and ZA as suspects by applying Article 2 paragraph (1) and/or Article 3 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended by Law no. 20 of 2001 in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) 1st of the Criminal Code.

In a series of investigations, the Prosecutor's Office is now waiting for other evidence that can strengthen the legal process of the three suspects, namely state losses.

Regarding the efforts to fulfill the evidence, investigators collaborated with the NTB Representative Development Finance Supervisory Agency (BPKP). The investigation audit process is currently underway.

PT AMG, which is headquartered in North Jakarta, was revealed to have the legality of an iron sand mining permit in the Dedalpak Block with a land area of 1,348 hectares. The permit is valid for 15 years from 2011 to 2026.

The permit for PT AMG was issued based on the Decree of the Regent of East Lombok Number: 2821/503/PPT.II/2011 concerning Approval to Improve Mining Business Permits (IUP) Exploration into IUP Operations for Production of Iron Sand and Mineral Followers in the Dedalpak Block which is included in the Pringgabaya District and Labuhan Haji District, East Lombok Regency.

In this case, it was also revealed that there were indications that PT AMG carried out mining in the Dedalpak Block without obtaining approval from the annual work plan and budget (RKAB) from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. Such mining activities are thought to take place in the period 2021 to 2022.

According to the regulations, the RKAB approval is a ticket for mining companies to operate. According to the regulation, there is also a stipulation of the production fee or royalties that must be deposited by the company to the government in every sale of mining commodities.

The regulation is in accordance with Article 18 of Government Regulation Number 81 of 2019 concerning Types and Tariffs on Types of Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) which apply to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources by setting royalty rates for iron sand commodities at 10 percent of the selling price.

From this regulation, the prosecutor's office has pocketed a potential state loss that appears in PT AMG mining activities without an annual RKAB with a value of Rp. 2 billion.