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AGO arrests PDI-P lawmaker for alleged mining permit fraud
The AGO has arrested a PDI-P lawmaker who was the regent of West Kutai when the alleged forged documents were issued, which were then used by several companies to prove their ownership of an East Kalimantan mine confiscated to reclaim state losses incurred in the Jiwasraya corruption case.
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Officers from the Attorney General's Office (AGO) escort Ismael Thomas (in orange vest), a House of Representatives lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), after detaining him on Aug. 15, 2023 in Jakarta as a suspect in the AGO’s ongoing graft investigation related to mining permits. (Antara/M. Risyal Hidayat)
T
he Attorney General’s Office (AGO) on Tuesday arrested Ismail Thomas, a lawmaker from the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and a former regent of West Kutai, for allegedly forging permits for a coal mine in East Kalimantan.
AGO spokesperson Ketut Sumedana said Ismail had been charged with violating Article 9 of the 2001 Corruption Law.
The article carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison and a fine of Rp 250 million (US$16,258) for any state officials found guilty of falsifying government documents.
“We allege that the suspect, along with several other individuals, forged documents that ended up being used in courts,” Ketut told a press briefing on Tuesday.
Ismail is suspected of forging permits that show mining company PT Sendawar Jaya as the owner of a 5,350-hectare coal mine in West Kutai, East Kalimantan, which the AGO had confiscated in connection with the PT Asuransi Jiwasraya graft case.
The mine was previously owned by PT Gunung Bara Utama, a subsidiary of another mining company belonging to businessman Heru Hidayat, who was tried and convicted for his role in the Jiwasraya case.
The case involving the state insurer is one of the largest financial scandals in the country’s history and resulted in state losses totaling Rp 16.8 trillion.
