The Indonesian government\u2019s efforts under President Prabowo Subianto\nto crack down on illegal mining and tin-smuggling networks are having a\nbroad impact, including on international markets. With access to illegal\nIndonesian tin supplies cut off, companies overseas are now finding it\nharder to obtain raw materials.<\/p>\n
Former finance minister Fuad Bawazier said overseas industries had\nknowingly received and relied on smuggled tin from Indonesia. The\ngovernment\u2019s large-scale enforcement campaign has directly halted the\nflow of this stolen raw material to global markets.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, it looks as though companies overseas are starting to run\nshort of raw materials; the stolen goods are running out,\u201d Fuad said on\nCNBC Indonesia\u2019s Cuap Cuap Cuan podcast, as quoted on Thursday (22\nOctober 2026).<\/p>\n
Fuad said foreign businesses had benefited from weak governance and\nlaw enforcement in Indonesia\u2019s tin sector. Illegal tin mined\ndomestically was readily absorbed by overseas industries to meet their\nproduction needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cForeign countries have prospered, haven\u2019t they? Other countries\naccept stolen goods too; they know they are stolen goods from Indonesia.\nWho says they don\u2019t know? They enforce the law in their own countries,\nbut when smuggled goods come in, they let them in, again and again!\nThat\u2019s how it goes\u2014until it is exposed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The crackdown under Prabowo is seen as bringing change to the\nnational tin industry. As well as creating a shortage of illegal raw\nmaterials overseas, the closure of around 1,000 illegal mining sites in\nBangka Belitung has helped restore the financial performance of\nstate-owned tin company PT Timah.<\/p>\n
The clean-up has boosted PT Timah Tbk\u2019s sales and profits by as much\nas ninefold, while increasing the market capitalisation of the company\u2019s\nassets by 280%. The enforcement of sovereignty over natural resources is\nintended to ensure that the economic value of Indonesia\u2019s tin flows into\nstate coffers rather than being captured by international black-market\nnetworks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings have improved enormously after the crackdown. People think\nenforcement is easy? We should be grateful, shouldn\u2019t we? The value of\nits assets and market capitalisation have risen, sales have\nincreased\u2014everything could be up nine or ten times,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Prabowo cracks down on illegal tin mining<\/strong><\/p>\n President Prabowo Subianto has previously said that efforts to tackle\nillegal mining, particularly tin mining, have produced results.<\/p>\n According to figures he cited, PT Timah Tbk (TINS) recorded a\nsignificant improvement in its financial performance, with profit\nsurging by 900%, or ninefold, in the first half of 2026 compared with\nthe same period in 2025.<\/p>\n Prabowo made the remarks during a discussion with senior journalists\nand experts at Padepokan Garuda Yaksa in Hambalang, Bogor Regency, West\nJava, on Sunday (6 September 2026). CNBC Indonesia broadcast the\ndiscussion on Wednesday (16 September 2026).<\/p>\n \u201cTin smuggling from Bangka went on for decades. But with our\npolicies, we have stopped the smuggling and shut down hundreds of\nillegal mines in Bangka. PT Timah is now making a profit! You may not\nbelieve it, but its profit is up ninefold\u2014900%!\u201d Prabowo said, as quoted\non Thursday (17 September 2026).<\/p>\n He said PT Timah\u2019s recovery reflected firm law enforcement and the\nclosure of channels through which state wealth had been leaking for\ndecades. Improvements to governance had directly restored the\nstate-owned company\u2019s revenue potential.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right, because we are enforcing the rules. How many decades\nhas this been going on?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Prabowo said PT Timah\u2019s financial recovery showed that better\ngovernance and clean leadership could quickly turn a state-owned\nenterprise from loss-making to profitable.<\/p>\n He stressed that the government and state-owned company directors\nwere firmly committed to ending all forms of fraud and theft of state\nassets.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy? Because the directors and all of us do not want to collude; we\ndo not want to steal from the state! That is the point. This has even\nexceeded my expectations, you know. So I am optimistic,\u201d Prabowo\nsaid.<\/p>\n Alongside the tin-mining crackdown, the government is continuing to\ntarget thousands of other illegal mines and reform state-owned\nenterprises to prevent financial leakage and increase dividend revenue\nfor the state.<\/p>",
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