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View all search resultsOmbudsman chief arrest raises accountability concerns
Indonesian Ombudsman chair Hery Susanto allegedly received Rp 1.5 billion (US$87,296) in exchange for launching a rigged audit of the Forestry Ministry to reduce the amount of nontax state revenue (PNBP) to be paid by a nickel company.
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Attorney General's Office (AGO) investigators escort Indonesian Ombudsman chair Hery Susanto (second right) after an interrogation session at AGO's building in Jakarta on April 16, 2026. AGO named Hery a graft suspect for allegedly accepting a bribe pertaining to a nontax state revenue (PNBP) assessment for a nickel company. (Antara/Muhammad Iqbal)
T
he arrest of Indonesian Ombudsman chair Hery Susanto for alleged bribery, only a week after his inauguration, has raised concerns over the integrity of the government’s vetting process for high-ranking state officials.
On Thursday, Attorney General’s Office (AGO) investigators arrested Hery after obtaining evidence indicating he had accepted Rp 1.5 billion (US$87,296) in bribes from a nickel company, identified only as PT TSHI, during his previous tenure as an Ombudsman commissioner from 2021 to 2026.
A team of investigators under the assistant attorney general for extraordinary crimes (Jampidsus) suspected Hery of accepting bribes in exchange for a rigged audit of the Forestry Ministry to revise its demand for nontax state revenue (PNBP) payments from TSHI.
The Ombudsman is authorized to oversee public services funded by the state or regional budgets.
During a meeting in Jakarta in April 2025, TSHI executives, identified only as LKP and LO, allegedly promised to pay Hery Rp 1.5 billion in exchange for a favorable Ombudsman investigation into the Forestry Ministry.
“TSHI made arrangements with Hery to have the Forestry Ministry’s decision revised following an Ombudsman investigation, so the company could calculate for itself the sum of PNBP it needed to pay,” Jampidsus investigation director Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi said during a press briefing on Thursday.
Read also: AGO arrests chief ombudsman on bribery charges after only six days in office
