Expert Reveals Anomalies in Duta Palma's Financial Reports, Losses Continue to Mount

JAKARTA - An accounting expert from the Faculty of Economics and Business at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Wuri Handayani, has revealed anomalies in the financial reports of companies affiliated with the Duta Palma Group. In the trial for the palm oil corruption case and money laundering offences involving Duta Palma, Wuri noted that several companies experienced extreme losses, not gradual ones as in normal companies. “So, the progression of the company, its growth, wouldn’t be like a roller coaster. If it’s rising, it usually increases smoothly, or if there’s a decline, it decreases gradually,” stated Wuri Handayani at the Central Jakarta District Court on Friday (8/5/2026). According to her, the surge in company losses continued significantly in subsequent years. “But from 2007 to 2008, the increase was nearly fivefold, from a loss of Rp 187 million to Rp 809 million,” she continued. Wuri admitted to investigating changes in the company’s assets to find the cause of the surge. She also highlighted the drastic change in the company’s financial condition from loss to profit in a short time. “Then in 2009, it turned positive to Rp 126 million. In 2010, it rose nearly tenfold to Rp 2.3 trillion. This is not normal in accounting. In a normal company, the condition wouldn’t be like this,” she said. According to Wuri, this condition is one of the indicators of anomalies in the company’s financial reports. She added that based on the classification done by her team, there is suspicion of tax avoidance efforts in the financial reporting pattern. “According to our classification, this is the third one, possibly trying to avoid taxes,” she stated. Wuri also assessed that auditors should have been able to detect this irregularity from the beginning. PT Duta Palma Group is accused of causing state financial losses amounting to Rp 4.79 trillion and 7.88 million US dollars related to the alleged corruption and money laundering offences in palm oil plantation business activities in Indragiri Hulu Regency, Riau, from 2004 to 2022.