Ethics Committee Receives 12 Reports on Ombudsman Chairman Hery Susanto

The Ombudsman RI Ethics Committee has received 12 to 14 reports concerning alleged legal and ethical violations involving former Ombudsman Chairman Hery Susanto, who is currently under legal investigation for suspected corruption in the management of nickel mining in Southeast Sulawesi from 2013 to 2025.

Jimly Asshiddiqie, chairman of the Ethics Committee, stated the reports came from within the Ombudsman and the Attorney General’s Office, which is handling Hery’s legal case.

“Yes, there are many, but we will disclose them publicly at the time of the report, not now, to keep it a bit suspenseful. Regarding the cases involving HS, the internal reports we received total 12 cases, which is a lot,” Jimly said during a press conference at the Ombudsman office in South Jakarta on Friday (29 May).

“But the Attorney General said, ‘No, sir, 14.’ So more extreme. That’s about it,” he added.

Jimly explained that the committee is currently finalising a report on alleged ethics violations by Hery, with the findings expected to be presented next week.

“Today, we are still awaiting a written response from the respondent, HS, whom we have already questioned twice, once with legal representation. This is the second time. Last week, we sent a letter because it was not possible for him to attend the questioning, so we requested written statements,” Jimly said.

“Thus, while awaiting the respondent’s reply, we will hold a final meeting this afternoon before the Ombudsman leadership and all members formally submit our official report to the Plenary,” he concluded.

During the process, the Ethics Committee has interviewed numerous parties, including internal staff, Ombudsman assistant associations, and other stakeholders.

“We also held a specific meeting with the Attorney General accompanied by the Special Crimes Prosecutor handling the HS case. We spent considerable time aligning our understanding of the matter. We do not interfere in legal assessments, but we only wish to raise a few ethical-related questions,” he added.

The Attorney General’s Office has named Hery Susanto a suspect in the suspected corruption case involving nickel mining management in Southeast Sulawesi from 2013 to 2025.

Director of Special Crimes Prosecution Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi stated that Hery played a role in issuing a letter correcting the amount of Non-Tax State Revenue from the Ministry of Forestry.

Hery also reviewed the Ministry of Forestry and arranged for the fine imposed on PT Toshida Indonesia (TSHI) to be deemed incorrect, prompting the Ombudsman to issue a correction letter instructing TSHI to recalculate its liabilities to the state.

Syarief said Hery received a bribe of Rp1.5 billion in 2025 for actions benefiting TSHI.