Land Assets To Houses Owned By Palm Oil Corruption Suspects Confiscated By Aceh Prosecutor's Office

Archives - Investigators escorted two suspects ZZ and SM related to the alleged corruption case of funds for the oil palm rejuvenation program, at the Aceh Prosecutor's Office in Banda Aceh, some time ago. ANTARA/HO-Penkum Aceh Prosecutor's Office

BANDA ACEH - Aceh High Prosecutor's Office (Kejati) investigators confiscated a number of assets of suspects suspected of corruption in the people's palm oil rejuvenation program (PSR) in West Aceh Regency.

Acting Head of the Legal Information and Public Relations Section of the Aceh Attorney General's Office, Novit Irwansyah, said the confiscation was for evidence and efforts to save state losses.

"The assets confiscated belonged to the suspect with the initials ZZ in West Aceh Regency, in the form of land, houses, land, and others. For the value of the assets, they will be submitted in more detail," said Irwansyah as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, July 18.

Suspect ZZ is the Head of the Mandiri Jaya Beusare Producer Cooperative. The cooperative is the executor of an oil palm rejuvenation program in West Aceh Regency for the 2019 fiscal year with a value of IDR 75.6 billion.

Regarding the assets of other suspects with the initials SM, said Irwansyah, so far they have not been confiscated, and investigators are still tracking SM's assets, who is the Head of the West Aceh Regency Plantation Service during the implementation of the people's palm oil rejuvenation program.

"The confiscation of these assets is due to suspicion of being obtained from corruption in the people's oil palm rejuvenation program. Investigators continue to work to trace other assets from the alleged corruption crime," said Irwansyah.

Previously, Aceh Attorney General's Office investigators named two suspects for alleged corruption in the people's oil palm rejuvenation program in West Aceh Regency, namely the initials SM and ZZ.

SM is the Head of the West Aceh Regency Plantation Service, and ZZ is the Head of the Mandiri Jaya Beusare Producer Cooperative.

The alleged corruption in the oil palm rejuvenation program began when the West Aceh Regency Plantation Service socialized a program to farmers or gardeners in 2017 through the West Aceh Regency Cooperative Service.

Furthermore, the Cooperative Service proposed that the Mandiri Jaya Beusare Producer Cooperative receive assistance from the oil palm rejuvenation program. The cooperative submitted 10 proposals for PSR program assistance through the West Aceh Regency Plantation Service.

After verification, the proposed assistance for the oil palm rejuvenation program was approved, and the cooperative received assistance reaching more than Rp75.6 billion in the 2019 fiscal year.

However, based on the results of the investigation and investigation, it turned out that the land proposed by the Mandiri Jaya Beusare Producer Cooperative for the oil palm rejuvenation program was in the form of hard wood trees or still in forest conditions.

In addition, there is also oil palm land with an age of under 25 years, and there is also business use rights (HGU) for plantation companies. So, the proposed land for PRS is not in accordance with the terms of beneficiaries as stated in the Minister of Agriculture's regulation regarding guidelines for rejuvenation of oil palm.

The two suspects who have been detained at the Class IIB Banda Aceh Detention Center since June 2023 are suspected of violating Article 2 in conjunction with Article 3 of Law Number 31 of 1999 which was changed to Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning the eradication of criminal acts of corruption.