Customs and Excise Responds to Alleged Coal Corruption Case
The Directorate General of Customs and Excise has spoken out regarding the alleged corruption in the procurement of coal supplies for steam power plants (PLTU), a case currently being handled by the Indonesian National Police. Budi Prasetiyo, head of the Public Relations and Counselling Sub-directorate at Customs, said his office respects the law enforcement process.
Budi said that the scope of Customs supervision is focused on customs activities, namely export and import activities.
“Should the police investigation uncover indications of violations involving customs aspects, Customs is committed to being cooperative and providing the information support investigators require, in accordance with its authority and the prevailing laws and regulations,” he said in a text message to Media Indonesia on Wednesday (8/7).
As previously reported, the alleged corruption in coal supply procurement for power plants is suspected of triggering blackouts in Sumatra. Former Deputy Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Saut Situmorang said the power outages caused by energy supply problems not only harm the state economically, but also reduce Indonesia’s competitiveness in the eyes of investors.
According to Saut, the case must be handled swiftly as it occurs amid an economic situation full of uncertainty. “The perpetrators must be punished severely. Unstable electricity supply reduces competitiveness and adds to investors’ doubts,” he said in Jakarta on Tuesday (7/7).
Head of the National Police’s Corruption Eradication Corps (Kortastipidkor), Inspector General Totok Suharyanto, said police are investigating alleged corruption and money laundering offences related to coal supply procurement for several power plants between 2018 and 2026.
“Investigators found indications of irregularities in the coal procurement and supply process for power plants by several companies involved, such as PT OBP and PT BRA,” Totok said. He said the case was escalated to the investigation stage on Saturday (4/7).
Meanwhile, Director of Criminal Offences at Kortastipidkor, Brigadier General Robertus Yohanes De Deo, said there are three modus operandi in the case. First, the alleged manipulation of documents concerning the quality of coal delivered or supplied. Second, alleged manipulation relating to the quantity of coal supplied to the power plants. Finally, alleged irregularities resulting in payments or contract prices that did not correspond to the actual supply conditions.
These modus operandi, Robertus said, are suspected of contributing to the disruption of coal supplies, which led to blackouts in several regions of Indonesia, including Sumatra, parts of Kalimantan, Central Java, East Java and parts of Greater Jakarta.