AGO Reveals 2 Determining Factors for JC Status of Sony in MBG Corruption Case

The Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) has revealed two determining factors for whether the justice collaborator (JC) application from former Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Sony Sonjaya will be accepted or rejected.

Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes, Febrie Adriansyah, stated that the first factor is whether investigators still require evidence or testimony from Sony in the case. “Firstly, we look at the evidence the investigators already have. Do they still need his testimony,” he told reporters at the Asset Recovery Agency Office on Monday (15/6).

Secondly, Febrie said his office will also examine the extent to which JC status can be granted to Sony. “To what extent can he, in a JC position, be maximised, what is his capacity as a JC. This still requires time,” he said.

Previously, the Director of Investigation at the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, stated that his office would examine Sony to assess the submitted JC application. “In the near future, we will conduct an examination of suspect SS to confirm the JC application he has submitted,” he told reporters, as quoted on Sunday (14/6).

Syarief said his office is currently scrutinising 26 names mentioned by Sony as being involved in the corruption case concerning the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme. This is because Sony has not yet handed over the evidence he possesses to investigators to corroborate his testimony. “Those 26 names are being scrutinised, we are checking them, we also have our own evidence, we are examining everything. Later we will summon and examine Mr SS who has applied for JC,” he said. “Because Mr SS has not yet submitted the evidence he has, we are also calculating what evidence we have,” he added.

The AGO has named a total of five suspects in the corruption case involving the governance of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme for the 2025-2026 period. The five are former BGN Head Dadan Hindayana; former BGN Deputy Heads Sony Sonjaya and Lodewyk Pusung; Sony’s associate, Asep Yusuf Somantri (AYS); and Commissioner of PT Yasa Artha Trimanunggal (YAT), Andri Mulyono.

In this case, the AGO explained that the MBG programme should have been managed by the Nutrition Service and Fulfilment Unit (SPPG) foundations affiliated with recipient schools. However, in practice, many SPPGs were appointed because they had affiliations with BGN senior officials. Furthermore, many foundations did not actually meet the requirements to become SPPG partners. Additionally, there was a mark-up in the procurement prices of goods, resulting in losses that did not support the operational implementation of the MBG. This included 21,801 electric motorcycles valued at IDR 1.03 trillion, 32,000 pairs of shoes, 31,994 tablet units, and 5,400 75-inch television units.