East Java High Prosecutor's Office to Transfer ESDM Corruption Case to Court

The East Java High Prosecutor’s Office (Kejati Jatim) will soon transfer a corruption case related to licensing at the provincial Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) office to court. Assistant for Special Crimes I Gede Punia stated that the case files for the three suspects have entered the first stage and six prosecutors have been appointed as public prosecutors. He confirmed that the team is finalising the paperwork to ensure the case can be tried promptly.

A team of six prosecutors has been formed to handle the prosecution. Meanwhile, the investigation remains ongoing, with investigators continuing to trace the flow of funds allegedly derived from corrupt practices in the issuance of mining and groundwater permits. To date, the prosecutor’s office has seized Rp350 million returned by several civil servants suspected of being linked to the case.

The three suspects are Aris Mukiyono, Head of the East Java ESDM Office; Ony Setiawan, Head of the Mining Division; and Hermawan, Head of the Groundwater Utilisation Working Team. They are suspected of collecting illegal levies from permit applicants under the pretext of expediting the issuance of new licences and extensions in the mining and groundwater sectors. The licensing process was supposed to be conducted online through the Online Single Submission (OSS) system, but investigators allege the suspects abused their authority to speed up or delay approvals in exchange for varying amounts of money.

The investigation began in April 2026, with prosecutors conducting a search of the ESDM office in Surabaya before naming the three suspects. Following the designation, more than a dozen civil servants from the office surrendered money and assets to investigators, which are believed to be proceeds of the alleged corruption. The three suspects are charged under Article 606 of the new Criminal Code or Article 12 letters e and b of the Corruption Eradication Law.