East Java Attorney General's Office suggests possibility of new suspects in mining permit extortion case

Surabaya (ANTARA) - The East Java High Prosecutor’s Office (Kejati Jatim) will develop the alleged corruption case of extortion (pungli) for mining permits within the Energy and Mineral Resources Office (Dinas ESDM), and does not rule out the possibility of new suspects.

The Assistant Special Criminal Prosecutor (Aspidsus) of the East Java High Prosecutor’s Office, Wagiyo, in Surabaya on Friday, said that the investigation into the case is still ongoing and has not stopped at the three suspects who have already been named.

“This case is still being developed by us. We do not rule out the possibility of other suspects if sufficient evidence is found,” Wagiyo stated.

In addition, he continued, investigators are also continuing to trace the possible involvement of other parties in the case, both internal and external to the related agency.

“We are still deepening the investigation into all parties suspected of being involved. The principle is that anyone who, based on evidence, has a connection to this case will be held legally accountable,” Wagiyo said.

“We are still examining the possibility of applying the Money Laundering Crime (TPPU) article. If there is evidence of funds being disguised or diverted to hide their origin, we will certainly process it according to applicable law,” he added.

Besides the Head of the ESDM Office, the other two suspects who have also been named are OS, the Head of the Mining Division of the East Java ESDM Office, and H, the Chairman of the Groundwater Business Working Team.

In this case, investigators found that the permitting process, which should be carried out through the Online Single Submission (OSS) system, was allegedly deliberately delayed.

Permit applicants who did not provide a certain amount of money were allegedly faced with obstacles in the permit issuance process, even though the requirements were complete.