Jatim Attorney General's Office Designates Head of East Java ESDM Department as Suspect in Mining Permit Extortion Case

Surabaya (ANTARA) - The High Prosecutor’s Office of East Java has designated the Head of the Energy and Mineral Resources Department (ESDM) of East Java Province, initialled AM, as a suspect in a case of illegal levies on mining permits.

Wagiyo, Assistant for Special Crimes at the East Java High Prosecutor’s Office, stated in Surabaya on Friday that the designation of the ESDM Department Head as a suspect followed an investigation and searches at the East Java ESDM Office and the residences of related parties.

“From the results of examinations and the collection of evidence, investigators have designated three individuals as suspects,” Wagiyo said.

In addition to the ESDM Department Head, the other two suspects are the Head of the Mining Division at the East Java ESDM Department, initialled OS, and the Chairman of the Groundwater Business Working Team, initialled H.

In this case, investigators found that the permitting process, which should be conducted through the Online Single Submission (OSS) system, was allegedly deliberately delayed.

Permit applicants who did not provide a certain amount of money faced obstacles in the issuance process, even though the requirements were complete.

He explained that the amount of money demanded varied: for mining permit extensions, it ranged from Rp50 million to Rp100 million, and for new permits, Rp50 million to Rp200 million.

Meanwhile, for groundwater business permits, extensions were demanded at Rp5 million to Rp20 million per application, and for new permits, between Rp50 million and Rp80 million.

Investigators stated that the investigation was conducted quietly since receiving reports from the public, particularly permit applicants.

Based on those reports, the team found initial evidence of suspected corruption in the permit issuance process within the Provincial Energy and Mineral Resources Department of East Java.

The suspected violations found include practices of illegal levies, gratification, and extortion by rogue officials in the agency.