Finance Minister Purbaya Sacks Two Senior Kemenkeu Officials Over Rp25 Trillion Tax Restitution Leak

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has admitted to dismissing two senior officials at the Ministry of Finance as a consequence of submitting incorrect data regarding tax restitutions or refunds for overpaid taxes by taxpayers. He stated that this decision was based on an internal investigation conducted to trace the scale of tax restitutions from the previous year. The value of tax restitutions in 2025 amounted to Rp361.15 trillion, an increase of 35.9% from the previous year. “I investigated five of the highest-ranking officials who issued restitutions; today, I will dismiss two of them. Serious, right? Yes, it’s up to the minister,” said Purbaya at his office in Jakarta on Monday (4/5/2026). “So the message is, when there is such an instruction, carry it out properly, don’t go overboard. So I’m not joking. There are two that I will dismiss,” he emphasised. Purbaya admitted that last year he had questioned his subordinates about the magnitude of the restitution value. The report he received indicated a small amount, but the actual realisation swelled significantly. “So like this, last year I misjudged the total restitutions that came out. Even though in the meeting I had already asked what the potential was. My staff said it was small. At the end of the year, I only found out that it came out several times more than what they mentioned. So that’s what we will fix, don’t let there be misinformation again,” he explained. According to him, this internal investigation is separate from the total restitution audit that he has submitted to the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP). The BPK audit is being conducted for the period 2016-2025. “I asked for it to be audited properly so we don’t get caught off guard. Especially in the coal industry. Its VAT, I covered Rp25 trillion in restitutions, net, so I paid. There’s something wrong with the calculation,” said Purbaya. He assured that in the future, the implementation of restitutions will be more measured and minimising data errors. Because if there are still those who play around with restitution data, Purbaya stressed that he will take action against the related parties. “So I want to see what exactly is in those restitutions. For now, it’s cancelled so it’s not too uncontrolled, if there’s a mistake. Later, if the mistake is found, well. Whoever is playing around, we will hammer them,” Purbaya explained.