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Analysis: Deputy minister's bribery revives mining takeover case
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(JP/Ruslan Sangadji)
T
he recent reporting of Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Edward “Eddy” Omar Sharif Hiariej to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) over alleged bribery reopens a case of a suspected hostile takeover of nickel-mining company PT Citra Lampia Mandiri (CLM) by a group of people with connections to law enforcement officers and politicians.
It is the Indonesian Corruption Watch chairman Sugeng Tegung Santoso who reported Eddy Hiariej to the KPK over a bribe he claimed Eddy received of Rp 7 billion (US$452,000) via two of his assistants from CLM. It is also Sugeng who disclosed to the public the alleged hostile takeover of CLM by PT Aserra Capital (AC) and PT Aserra Mineralindo Investasma (AMI), belonging to Zainal Abidinsyah Siregar.
According to Sugeng, AMI took over CLM, which owns 2,660 hectares of nickel mining concession in East Luwu regency, South Sulawesi, by paying only US$2.5 million, or about 10 percent of the actual agreed price of $23.5 million, supported by various parties using a combination of civil legal cases and a criminal case. According to Tempo’s report, the takeover involved coal baron Andi “Haji Isam” Syamsuddin Arsyad and a number of high-ranking police personnel.
The bribery case started when Helmut Hermawan, then-president director of CLM, was fighting against AC and AMI over the latter’s hostile takeover of CLM. Helmut asked lawyer Anita Zizlavsky to connect him with her childhood friend, Eddy Hiariej. Helmut then asked Eddy to block Kumham’s approval of CLM’s revised company deed to prevent the takeover becoming legal.
According to Tempo’s report, CLM transferred Rp 2 billion to Eddy via his assistant Yogi Arie Rukmana on 27 April 2022 and then another Rp 2 billion on 17 May 2022 and US$200,000 or equivalent with Rp 3 billion in cash delivered by Yogi between May and October 2022. Upon discovering the transfer of money, Anita was unhappy and told Eddy to return the money. Eddy then returned the Rp 7 billion via Yogi to CLM on Oct. 17, 2022. On the same day, CLM, under the new management, returned the money back via Yosi Andika Mulyadi, another assistant to Eddy Hiariej.
Before being summoned by the KPK, Eddy Hiariej took the initiative and went to the KPK on Monday to make clarification over the bribery report, saying that he submitted a number of pieces of evidence to the KPK. He said that his assistants Yogi and Yosi received the money because they were lawyers to Helmut, then-president director of CLM. Helmut was also a client to Sugeng. On the same day, the KPK summoned Sugeng to question him over his reports against Eddy Hiariej.
Helmut, who was fighting against the takeover of CLM by AC and AMI, was arrested by the South Sulawesi Police in February for what the police claimed was the giving of false testimony as president director of CLM. Upon his arrest, netizens protested via social media against what they saw as the criminalization of Helmut.
