Clean-Up Continues: Purbaya to Dismiss Two Officials Over Tax Restitution Issues
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa plans to dismiss two officials in the Ministry of Finance as part of efforts to tackle issues with tax restitution disbursements. Purbaya revealed that he has investigated five officials involved in restitution management, deciding to remove two of them.
“I investigated five senior officials who issued the highest restitutions. Today, I will dismiss two,” Purbaya told reporters during a media briefing at the Ministry of Finance office in Jakarta on Monday (4/5/2026).
However, he did not disclose the names of the officials to be dismissed. The Finance Minister only explained that the investigation stemmed from his findings regarding the value of tax restitution disbursements for the 2025 fiscal year, which did not match the reports he received.
Initially, he received reports from his staff that the tax restitution value was quite low. However, at the end of the fiscal year, he discovered that the disbursement value had surged several times over the previous information.
“So, that is what we will fix. There should be no more misinformation,” Purbaya stated.
The decision to dismiss the officials is a firm action against alleged irregularities within the Ministry of Finance. He hopes that with this sanction, officials in the ministry can carry out their duties in accordance with mandates and avoid fraudulent practices.
“The message is that when there is such an instruction, carry it out properly. Do not overdo it. Overdoing it means not reporting developments accurately,” he said.
Previously, Purbaya dismissed two director generals as part of the usual staff rotation policy in the Ministry of Finance.
The two director generals were Febrio Nathan Kacaribu, who previously served as Director General of Economic and Fiscal Strategy (DJSEF), and Luky Alfirman as Director General of Budget.
“That was just a routine process, after several years of rotation. So, there is nothing special about it,” Purbaya told reporters in Jakarta on Friday (24/4).
When confirmed about allegations of internal conflicts, Purbaya did not deny that organisational dynamics were one of the factors influencing his decision, though the portion was relatively small.
“Yes and no. Yes, there is a little influence, but that is not the only thing. There are other factors,” he said.
During his tenure, Purbaya has also actively rotated Ministry of Finance staff as part of institutional improvements.
Most recently, he inaugurated five new echelon II officials spread across the General Secretariat, Directorate General of Economic and Fiscal Strategy (DJSEF), Directorate General of State Assets (DJKN), and Directorate General of Financial Sector Stability and Development (DJSPSK).