Four Key Points on Illegally Exported 'Treasure' as Three Suspects Are Charged
The Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) has uncovered an alleged violation in the export of rare earth metals (logam tanah jarang, LTJ) in Batam, Riau Islands. Three suspects have been named in the case.
The investigation was carried out jointly with the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force (Satgas PKH). The three suspects are alleged to have facilitated the export of Indonesia’s ‘buried treasure’ by manipulating laboratory test results and the issuance of export documents.
“After a series of examinations, the investigative team named three suspects: Mr IS (Iwan Setiawan) as representative of PT PMM, Mr GP (Gian Prabuharto) as Head of the Pangkalpinang Service Unit at PT Sucofindo, and Mr JK (Junanto Kurniawan) as Head of the Type C Customs Service and Supervision Office in Pangkalpinang,” said Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, Director of Investigations at the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes, at a press conference at the Kejagung office in South Jakarta on Wednesday (8/7/2026).
The Forest Area Enforcement Task Force had previously examined 25 containers carrying rare earth metals in Batam, Riau Islands. The task force suspects legal violations relating to the export of these minerals.
For context, the Geology Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources explains that rare earth metals are a group of metals with distinctive properties essential to many modern technology applications. The term ‘rare’ refers to their scarcity in nature.
Rare earth elements are a group of transition metals comprising the 15 lanthanide elements in the periodic table — lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb) and lutetium (Lu) — plus scandium and yttrium, making 17 elements in total.
- Chronology
The case began when Iwan asked Gian not to conduct a comprehensive examination of ilmenite samples. Ilmenite, which is the primary source of titanium, is abundant in Indonesia.
When checked by the Satgas PKH, the jumbo bags said to contain only ilmenite were found to hold rare earth metals. Syarief did not specify which rare earth metals were discovered.
“The aim was to ensure that the rare earth mineral content, which is on the list of strategic minerals banned from export, was not included in the laboratory test report, which served as the basis for issuing export documents,” he explained.
Syarief said Iwan allegedly asked Gian to report laboratory examination results showing the goods to be ilmenite so they could be exported, and asked that the rare earth metals found in the laboratory tests be omitted.
“He also asked the laboratory to leave out the rare earth metals identified in the laboratory test report, as these are goods banned from export,” he said.
Syarief said Gian fulfilled Iwan’s request by testing only the top portion of the load in the jumbo bags. This meant the rare earth content went undetected during the laboratory testing used to issue export documents.
“Mr GP knew that these rare earth metals or minerals have very high economic and strategic value and are on the list of strategic minerals banned from export. Yet to fulfil Mr IS’s request, Mr GP unlawfully failed to test the samples sent by Mr IS comprehensively,” he said.
Junanto, as Head of Customs in Pangkalpinang, is alleged to have issued export documents despite knowing that the goods from PT PMM contained rare earth metals. Junanto is suspected of approving that the comprehensive inspection of 390 tonnes of metal containing rare earth elements not be carried out.
“And through Mr JK’s abuse of authority in not disclosing the analysis showing the presence of rare earth minerals, at Mr IS’s request, PT PMM was able to illegally export approximately 390 tonnes of soil containing rare earth metals,” he continued.
- The Company’s Modus Operandi
Prosecutors say the suspects manipulated the laboratory test results of this ‘buried treasure’ to obtain export permits for shipment abroad.
“The aim of these actions was to ensure that the rare earth metal content, which is on the list of strategic minerals banned from export, was not included in the laboratory test report,” said Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, Director of Investigations at the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes, speaking to journalists at the Kejagung office in South Jakarta on Wednesday (8/7/2026).
Three suspects have been named: Iwan Setiawan (IS), representative of PT PMM; Gian Prabuharto (GP), Head of the Pangkalpinang Service Unit at PT Sucofindo; and Junanto Kurniawan (JK), Head of the Type C Customs Service and Supervision Office in Pangkalpinang.
- Export of 390 Tonnes
Syarief said GP fulfilled IS’s request by testing only the top portion of the load in the jumbo bags, so the rare earth content went undetected in laboratory tests used to issue export documents.
“Mr GP knew that rare earth metals have very high economic and strategic value and are banned from export. Yet to fulfil Mr IS’s request, Mr GP unlawfully failed to comprehensively test the samples submitted by Mr IS,” he added.
JK, as Head of Customs in Pangkalpinang, is then alleged to have issued export documents despite knowing the goods from PT PMM contained rare earth metals.
“Mr JK nevertheless issued the export documents. This was a consequence of Mr GP accommodating IS’s request not to test the samples comprehensively,” he explained.
“And through Mr JK’s abuse of authority in not disclosing the analysis showing the presence of rare earth minerals, at Mr IS’s request, PT PMM was able to illegally export approximately 390 tonnes of soil containing rare earth metals,” he continued.
- Two Shipments Already Slipped Through
Kejagung suspects that two earlier shipments passed through and have already reached foreign destinations.
“Indeed, beyond the containers held in Batam, our tracing yesterday found two other shipments that got through. We are now tracing where those exports went. What is clear is that there were two other shipments that slipped through,” said Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi at the Kejagung office in Jakarta on Wednesday (8/7/2026).
Syarief said 15 containers were stopped before leaving Batam. Those 15 containers, he said, held around 390 tonnes of mined soil exported under the commodity name of ilmenite.
He said the containers are suspected of holding not only ilmenite but also rare earth metals — Indonesia’s ‘buried treasure’. He stressed that rare earth metals are banned from export.
“The containers now held in Batam number 15, and that figure refers to the soil, not the rare earth metals — approximately 390 tonnes of soil. Within it are rare earth minerals,” he explained.
Syarief said his office has not yet confirmed the exact quantity of rare earth metals contained in the material, as prosecutors are still awaiting laboratory test results.