AGO Continues to Probe Possibility of Additional Suspects in Free Nutritious Meal Programme Case
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is continuing to investigate the alleged criminal act of corruption in the governance of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme at the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) for the 2025–2026 period and is not ruling out the possibility of additional suspects.
Director of Investigations (Dirdik) at the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus), Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, stated at the AGO on Thursday that after designating the fourth suspect, his team is still conducting further investigation as the current inquiry is still in its early stages.
“We are still conducting further investigation, continuing to probe because this is still at the beginning, yes, the early stages of the investigation,” said Syarief.
He stated that if evidence is found during this probing process, those responsible will be held to account. “We continue to investigate, and if there are people who committed acts or can be held accountable, as long as there is evidence, we will certainly process them,” he said.
The former Head of the South Jakarta District Prosecutor’s Office stated that his team will examine the suspects, including following up on names mentioned by suspect Sony Sonjaya (SS) in the official examination report (BAP).
“We will examine suspect SS first. Focus on that first. After receiving this, we will examine suspect SS so that the person concerned can explain to us what information he obtained. So, it is not just the name, but what the information is,” Syarief explained.
Regarding who else will be asked for information besides the suspects, Syarief said that anyone with knowledge of the case has the potential to be summoned as a witness. “As I mentioned in the previous doorstop, everyone who knows about it indeed has the potential to be called as a witness, but not every witness played a role in the criminal act; some may know or experience it,” he stressed.
“That process is ongoing; we are still investigating. So, here we are investigating the buying and selling of points, yes, the buying and selling of points and the procurement process. We are probing those two things in this case. We will provide an update later,” he said.
Regarding the number of foundation affiliates linked to the suspects, Syarief said this is also still being investigated. “The process is still ongoing; it means the number is still increasing, still running. We will inform you later,” he said.
Investigators will soon schedule examinations for the suspects. As for witnesses, more than 20 people have been questioned to date.
The value of the state’s financial loss is still being calculated by investigators.
Syarief also denied narratives suggesting investigators were confused about designating Sony Sanjaya as a suspect after he submitted himself as a justice collaborator (JC). “That’s not true. As long as we have evidence, that is what we use to designate someone as a suspect,” he stated.
Regarding suspect Sony Sonjaya’s request for JC status, Syarief said his team is currently scrutinising and studying the application, particularly what information and evidence the suspect will provide. “We are currently scrutinising and studying the application, roughly what information will be given and what evidence we already have; that is what we are studying at the moment,” he said.
He continued, “This will then determine whether this JC application can be accepted or not, because JC status is given to a perpetrator who is willing to be a witness to expose a bigger role.”
From that testimony, Syarief added, investigators can determine whether there is another, larger role, or where the authority to carry out the actions performed by the suspect lies. “Now, here we will determine whether there is another, bigger role or where the authority lies for carrying out the execution. That is what we are currently studying,” Syarief concluded.