Alleged Corruption in Free Nutritious Meals Programme: Profiles and Roles of the Five Suspects
The Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) is investigating an alleged corruption case in the governance of the free nutritious meals (MBG) programme and has named five suspects. The five suspects consist of former leaders of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) and private parties. Kejagung is investigating this case based on a warrant dated 29 May 2026. The alleged corruption occurred at BGN in 2025-2026.
“Investigation into the alleged criminal act of corruption in the governance of the Free Nutritious Meals or MBG programme at the National Nutrition Agency for 2025-2026,” said the Director of Investigation at the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus), Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, during a press conference at the Kejagung office in South Jakarta on Wednesday (3/6/2026).
Kejagung suspects irregularities in the management of the MBG programme, including the affiliation of the suspects with foundations managing the Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) and alleged mark-ups in the procurement of electric motorcycles, shoes, tablets, and televisions.
The suspects are: 1. Former Head of BGN Dadan Hindayana; 2. Former Deputy Head of BGN Sony Sonjaya; 3. Former Deputy Head of BGN Lodewyk Pusung; 4. Asep Yusuf Somantri (AYS), a close associate of Sony; 5. Andri Mulyono (AM), Commissioner of PT Yasa Artha Trimanunggal (PT YAT).
Regarding the roles of the three former BGN leaders, the Director of Investigation stated that the MBG programme was supposed to be managed by foundations at each school. However, the appointed foundations were allegedly affiliated with Dadan and his colleagues and were used as vehicles for crime. The three suspects are accused of orchestrating the verification process for establishing SPPG units, ensuring that affiliated foundations were appointed despite not meeting requirements. These foundations reportedly received billions of rupiah daily in incentives.
Furthermore, the suspects allegedly intervened with commitment-making officials (PPK) to manipulate the procurement process, resulting in marked-up prices for goods and services that did not support the operational needs of the MBG programme. The procurement of 21,801 electric motorcycles worth approximately IDR 1 trillion, 32,000 pairs of shoes, over 31,000 tablets, and 5,400 75-inch televisions were all cited as being procured against regulations and with inflated prices, causing state losses.
Asep Yusuf Somantri, a private party, was allegedly asked by Sony Sonjaya to find partners for the MBG programme. Sony is suspected of giving Asep access to intervene with the partner verification team, allowing them to identify vacant kitchen locations and manipulate the approval status of prospective SPPG applicants on the BGN portal. Asep allegedly facilitated SPPGs that registered after the portal had closed and provided money to Sony. Asep is suspected of violating Article 12 letter a or b of the Corruption Eradication Law and Article 605.