Government Hunts Financiers Behind Illegal Gunung Botak Gold Mine
The Directorate General of Law Enforcement (Ditjen Gakkum) at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) is formulating a strategy to eradicate Unlicensed Mining (PETI) by targeting major financiers as the primary objective. This shift comes as the conservative approach of only pursuing small-scale miners in the field has been deemed ineffective in deterring the proliferation of illegal mines.
Director General of Law Enforcement at ESDM, Jeffri Huwae, explained that the current law enforcement policy is transforming into a more modern and flexible approach to tackle the massive scale of illegal mining. The ministry is now focusing on the flow of funds, as mining activities are fundamentally a capital-intensive industry heavily reliant on the availability of operational costs.
"What is the basic principle? Mining is capital-intensive. If it is capital-intensive, the main focus must be on that capital, the financier. And this capital spot is our target," he stated in Ambon, Maluku, on Thursday (25/6/2026).
Jeffri is confident that by targeting the financing side, the government can have a greater impact on suppressing illegal mining practices in various regions. This strategy is considered more effective because field operators will be unable to move without financial backing from parties with large capital behind the scenes.
"We are pushing law enforcement towards the financiers. We are confident that if we enter this financier spot, it will have a significant impact on reducing the tension of illegal mining practices. Because, however you look at it, they need money. The ones always playing behind the scenes are those with money," he clarified.
In its implementation, Ditjen Gakkum ESDM will divide roles with other law enforcement agencies such as the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the National Police (Polri). While the police have the personnel strength for field operations, the government will focus its resources more on investigating financiers so that law enforcement runs more efficiently.
"So our strategy is not perhaps related to field control; that part will be handled by our colleagues from the TNI and Polri because they have the personnel strength and infrastructure. But for us, we want to go directly to the financier spot," said Jeffri.
With this strategy, the government hopes to deliver a strong breakthrough against PETI for various commodities such as gold, nickel, and coal. This measure is expected to save state finances while mitigating environmental damage and socio-cultural disruption around mining areas.
"The hope is that this provides an effective and efficient impact. We use only small resources but are able to deliver a big impact. That is the principle," he concluded.