Dadan Named Suspect in MBG Corruption Case; Purbaya: One of the Reports Originated from Us
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has revealed that the removal of Dadan Hindayana from his position as Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), alongside his designation as a suspect in the alleged MBG corruption case by the Attorney General’s Office, is part of President Prabowo Subianto’s evaluation of his priority programmes.
“This is the President’s decision after conducting an evaluation of his performance. We are not interfering,” said Purbaya at the DPR Building, Jakarta, on Wednesday (3/6/2026).
Following this evaluation, Purbaya stated that the Head of State has decided to slash the MBG budget for this year from Rp 335 trillion to Rp 268 trillion.
“What is clear is the current budget? It is around Rp 260 trillion, right? It will decrease because of various cuts; it will likely be slightly below that,” he asserted.
He noted that President Prabowo Subiante’s evaluation is based on oversight conducted by relevant ministries and agencies, such as the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP). However, he emphasised that the Ministry of Finance also conducts oversight regarding budget implementation and reports these findings to President Prabowo.
“We shall see. We check the pricing, and perhaps one of the reports originated from us, but it is not just from us; BPKP investigates, the Attorney General’s Office investigates, everyone is checking, so we exchange data,” said Purbaya.
As previously reported, the Attorney General’s Office has provided explanations regarding the investigation into alleged criminal acts of corruption in the management of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme within the National Nutrition Agency for the years 2025 and 2026. In this case, the Attorney General’s Office has named the former Head of the BGN, Dadan Hindayana, as a suspect. Additionally, two former Deputy Heads of the BGN, Sony Sonjaya and Lodewyk Pusung, have also been named suspects.
Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, Director of Investigation at the Attorney General’s Office for Special Crimes, explained that the MBG programme, which commenced on 6 January 2025, utilised a budget of Rp 85.7 trillion in 2025 and Rp 286 trillion in 2026, sourced from the State Budget (APBN).
According to him, the MBG programme was intended to be managed by foundations within each school. However, in reality, the foundations appointed as partners for the SPPG were entities used by officials affiliated with BGN officials or employees who did not meet the requirements to become SPPG partners.
“Nevertheless, they were appointed through manipulated verification processes on the BGN partner portal due to the intervention of the suspects. These foundations received incentives of billions of rupiah every day, and the affiliated foundations include those owned by DH, SS, and LP,” Syarief stated during a press conference in front of the Jampidsus Building, South Jakarta, on Wednesday (3/6/2026).