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View all search resultsAGO names Toba Pulp Lestari suspect of export tax fraud in $113m graft case
The pulp company is alleged of manipulating export documents related to affiliated-party transactions between 2008 and 2025 that resulted in estimated state losses of $113.4 million, the latest development in a case that has named two tax officials as suspects for allegedly accepting bribes from TPL.
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A group of Batak people hold a demonstration in front of the provincial governor’s office in Medan on Nov. 10, 2025, demanding that North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution shut down PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) for allegedly grabbing indigenous land and causing ecological damage around Lake Toba. (Antara Foto/Yudi Manar)
T
he Attorney General’s Office (AGO) named on Monday PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) as a corporate suspect in a transfer pricing and under-invoicing case that prosecutors say caused around Rp 2 trillion (US$113.4 million) in state losses.
The case involves exports from TPL to an affiliated company between 2008 and 2025, according to the AGO, the latest development in an investigation that last month named two tax officials as suspects for allegedly accepting bribes from the pulp producer.
TPL allegedly under-invoiced pulp exports to affiliate DP Macau Marketing International Ltd. as well as products sold domestically to Asia Pacific Rayon, including by manipulating the products’ Harmonized System (HS) codes, intended use and declared value, Saiful Bahri Siregar, director of investigations under the assistant attorney general for special crimes (Jampidsus), told a press conference on Sept. 7.
“These products should have been [classified as] dissolving pulp but were changed into paper-grade pulp or bleached hardwood kraft pulp,” Saiful said.
The alleged misclassification and under-invoicing affected the corresponding documents used to assess whether the prices charged in affiliated-party transactions were reasonable, he said.
Because the transactions involved its affiliates, TPL was required to submit transfer pricing documents and corporate tax returns so tax authorities could assess whether the prices were set at fair market levels.
Instead, TPL allegedly worked with tax officials to avoid scrutiny, including by bypassing established procedures for reviewing tax audit documents.
