AGO Names Two Tax Officials Suspects in Pulp Export Manipulation Case

The Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) is investigating an alleged criminal act of transfer pricing corruption by PT TPL Tbk. As a result of the investigation, the AGO has named two tax officials as suspects in the manipulation of pulp exports. The Director of Investigation at the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus), Saiful Bahri Siregar, explained that PT TPL has been operating in the pulp processing and forestry industry since 2008. PT TPL conducted export sales of pulp to its affiliates through underinvoicing or fraudulent means. “By reporting at the export stage from Indonesia as paper grade pulp or bleached hardwood kraft pulp (BHKP). In fact, in terms of characteristics, use, and market price, the product is dissolving pulp. Here the HS code has been changed,” said Saiful during a press conference at the AGO Round Building, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, Wednesday (12/8/2026). The parties named as suspects are: 1. BP, as a supervisor in the tax audit of PT TPL for the years 2020 and 2023. 2. SR, as a supervisor in the tax audit of PT TPL for the year 2024. Saiful explained that because the value of PT TPL’s products was reduced from their actual value, PT TPL acted unlawfully. From the 2018 to 2025 period, PT TPL reported the sale of pulp products inaccurately to PT Asia Pacific Rayon or its affiliated company. “Namely dissolving pulp products under the name high alpha pulp, thus impacting a reduction in the corporate tax value that should have been received by the state,” he said. To facilitate this fraudulent effort, PT TPL sought assistance from suspect BP as the supervisor for the 2020 and 2023 tax audits. PT TPL also sought help from suspect SR for the 2024 tax audit. “That suspects BP and SR, at the request of PT TPL, unlawfully did not perform their duties and functions as supervisors, namely supervising and reviewing the Audit Working Papers (KKP) and Audit Result Reports (LHP), which were not based on the audit programme that had been prepared by the suspects,” Saiful revealed. “And for these actions, the suspects committed or received a sum of money from PT TPL,” he added. Saiful stated that the actions of PT TPL and the suspects resulted in an improper reduction of state revenue. Consequently, the state suffered a financial loss. “Meanwhile, from our investigation results, a provisional loss value of Rp 2 trillion has been obtained. The official result will be provided later by the auditor team,” he explained. As a result of their actions, the two suspects are charged with violating the primary charge of Article 603 in conjunction with Article 20 letter a or c of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001, and the subsidiary charge of Article 604 of Law Number 1 of 2023. “The suspects are being detained for 20 days starting today at the Salemba Detention Centre, Branch of the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of Indonesia,” he added.