The 2018 Salt Import Case Enters The Investigation Stage, Attorney General: MSMEs Are Lost, This Is Very Sad!

Misuse of imported salt in 2018. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Attorney General's Office of the Republic of Indonesia has studied criminal cases of alleged corruption cases of abuse of authority in determining quotas, granting approval, implementation and supervision of salt imports at the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) in 2016-2022. The case is currently at the investigation stage.

Indonesian Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin explained, in 2018 the Ministry of Trade issued industrial salt import approvals for PT MTS, PT SM, and PT UI without verifying. As a result, this causes an excess of industrial salt imports.

"On Monday, June 27, 2022, the investigative team conducted a case title and concluded that the case should be brought to the investigation stage," said Burhanuddin at the Indonesian Attorney General's Office Building, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, Monday 27 June.

Burhanuddin said that salt that should be destined for industry was misused by being packaged using the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) label. As a result of this act, it has caused a loss to the country's economy where domestic salt cannot compete with imported salt.

"This means that MSMEs should be the ones who get sustenance there, from the salt of this domestic industry, they are imported salt as Indonesian industries. This is what ultimately suffers from the MSMEs. This is very, very sad," he said.

Ministry of Trade Passes Import Quota of IDR 2 Trillion Without Calculation

Kapuspenkum AGO, Ketut Sumedana, said that the Ministry of Trade allegedly passed a salt import quota of 3.7 million tons or a value of Rp. 2 trillion, without taking into account domestic stocks.

"That in 2018 there were 21 salt importing companies that received a quota of 3,770,346 tons of industrial salt import approval or with a value of Rp2,054,310,721,560 without taking into account local salt stocks and available industrial salt stocks, resulting in an abundance of industrial salt," he said. Ketut.

Ketut said, the importers then illegally transferred the designation of industrial salt to consumption salt with a fairly high price ratio. This results in losses for local salt farmers and losses for the state economy.

"The Investigative Team has made inquiries to several related people and obtained the relevant documents," he explained.

However, said Ketut, after analyzing and conducting a case, it was concluded that in the case of the import of industrial salt, a criminal incident was found.

"So that it can be increased to the investigation stage to collect evidence and make light of the incident and find out who is responsible for the act," he said.

The provisions of the articles suspected in this case are primary Article 2 paragraph (1) of Law Number 31 of 1999 as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, subsidiary Article 3 of Law Number 31 of 1999 as amended with Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption.