4 Things Known About the RI Ombudsman Chairman Being Prosecuted by Prosecutors as a Suspect
The Chairman of the Indonesian Ombudsman, Hery Susanto, has been detained by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO). Hery has been designated a suspect in an alleged bribery case related to nickel mining.
Hery’s detention took place on Thursday (16/4/2026). Around 11:19 WIB, Hery was seen being escorted out of the AGO’s Jampidsus building in South Jakarta. He was wearing a pink detainee vest and handcuffed.
Hery was immediately taken to a detainee vehicle. He remained silent as he was led to the vehicle.
For information, Hery Susanto officially assumed the role of Ombudsman Chairman for the 2026-2031 period on Friday (10/4). He previously served as an Ombudsman member.
detikcom has compiled several recent facts regarding the case involving the RI Ombudsman Chairman, as follows:
Involved in Nickel Governance Case
The Attorney General’s Office has detained RI Ombudsman Chairman Hery Susanto. Hery Susanto has been designated a suspect in a case concerning nickel mining governance from 2013-2025.
“Today, Thursday, 16 April, the Jampidsus investigative team has designated HS as a suspect in the alleged criminal corruption case in nickel mining business governance activities from 2013-2025,” stated the Head of the Jampidsus Criminal Investigation Directorate of the AGO, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, during a press conference at the AGO in South Jakarta on Thursday (16/4/2026).
He said the suspect designation was made after obtaining several pieces of evidence, including through searches. He stated that HS received bribe money.
“Initially, there was one company, PT TSHI, which had issues with PNBP calculations by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, then PT TSHI sought a solution,” he explained.
- Received Rp 1.5 Billion Bribe
The Attorney General’s Office has detained RI Ombudsman Chairman Hery Susanto as a suspect in the bribery case concerning nickel mining governance from 2013-2025. Hery is alleged to have received a bribe of Rp 1.5 billion.
“The suspect received several amounts of money from Mr LKM, who is the director of PT TSHI. Approximately, what has been handed over from this one person is around Rp 1.5 billion,” said the Head of the Jampidsus Criminal Investigation Directorate of the AGO, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, during a press conference at the AGO in South Jakarta.
Hery is charged under Article 12 letter a, 12 letter b, Article 5 of the Corruption Eradication Law, and Article 606 of the Criminal Code. Hery is being detained for the first 20 days at the Salemba Detention Centre Branch of the South Jakarta District Prosecutor’s Office.
Syarief said Hery is alleged to have handled issues regarding non-tax state revenue (PNBP) calculations for PT TSHI. He mentioned that PT TSHI then asked Hery to arrange for the Ombudsman to correct the PNBP calculations.
“Then, together with Mr HS, to arrange so that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s letter or policy is corrected by the Ombudsman with an order for PT TSHI to calculate its own payable burden,” he said.
- Only 6 Days in Office as Ombudsman Chairman
Hery Susanto serves as the RI Ombudsman Chairman for the 2026-2031 period. There are nine people serving as Ombudsman members for the 2026-2031 period, one of whom is Hery, who also holds the position of chairman.
The oath-taking and promise ceremony for the new RI Ombudsman members was held at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Friday (10/4/2026). As information, the Ombudsman is a state institution authorised to supervise the implementation of public services, whether organised by state and government organisers, including SOEs, regional SOEs, and state-owned legal entities, or private entities or individuals assigned to provide certain public services funded partially or entirely from the State Budget and/or Regional Budget.
Less than a week into his tenure as Ombudsman Chairman, Hery Susanto was designated a suspect in the bribery case concerning nickel mining governance from 2013-2025. Hery is alleged to have received a bribe of Rp 1.5 billion.
Hery is alleged to have handled PNBP calculation issues for PT TSHI. PT TSHI asked Hery to arrange for the Ombudsman to correct the PNBP calculations.
This incident occurred in 2025. Before serving as RI Ombudsman Chairman in 2026, Hery was an RI Ombudsman member for the 2021-2026 period.
- Ombudsman’s Response
The Attorney General’s Office has designated RI Ombudsman Chairman Hery Susanto as a suspect in the alleged bribery case. The Ombudsman has apologised and stated its readiness to be cooperative.
“In connection with the legal case faced by RI Ombudsman Chairman Hery Susanto, that case is an incident that occurred in the previous period (2021-2026). The RI Ombudsman Leadership for the 2026-2031 Period conveys an apology for the public discomfort and regrets that this incident occurred, and strongly commits to continuing to maintain public trust in the public service supervision task with full integrity,” as per the official statement viewed on the Ombudsman’s website on Thursday (16/4/2026).
The Ombudsman states that it respects the legal process at the AGO. The Ombudsman invites all parties to prioritise the presumption of innocence principle.
“The RI Ombudsman Leadership fully respects the ongoing legal process and hands over the handling of this case to the authorised law enforcers and will be cooperative,” stated the Ombudsman.