Forestry Minister Clarifies Involvement in KPK Sting Operation Against Kuansing Regent

Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has issued a clarification regarding the issue of his involvement in the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) sting operation against the Regent of Kuantan Singingi, Riau, Suhardiman Amby, on 2 June 2026, who is now a suspect in a case of bribery for the position of regional secretary. “My first clarification is that it is true, on 2 June 2026, there was an audience with the Kuansing Regent at this office. This was an open audience, the regent sent an official letter, it was published on my social media and the ministry’s, and there is an attendance list and minutes. So, if the KPK needs them at any time, or we will even be proactive in submitting the necessary evidence or documents,” said the Minister at a press conference in Jakarta on Friday. The Minister explained that during the audience, the Regent left behind an envelope inside a folder, and once Suhardiman Amby had departed, he realised this and immediately instructed his aide to return the envelope. Subsequently, considering the matter, Raja Juli Antoni dispatched his aide to return the Kuansing Regent’s forgotten envelope the following week, on Friday, 12 June 2026. “On Thursday, 11 June 2026, the Secretary General of the Forestry Ministry issued a travel order, an instruction for my aide to visit the Kuansing Regent,” said Minister Raja Juli. On Friday, 12 June 2026, at around 2.57 p.m., precisely 17 days before the sting operation occurred, the aide returned the white envelope to the Kuansing Regent, complete with photographs and a receipt. “I am showing this to my media colleagues. This is the receipt, dated 12 June at 2.57 p.m. This was received by Mr Suhardiman Amby, Regent of Kuantan Singingi, with a duty stamp, and this is my aide, Bambang Hariadi. Seventeen days before the OTT, as my moral responsibility, my public responsibility as a leader here, we returned the envelope that the regent left behind during the audience,” stated Minister Raja Juli Antoni.