KPK Questions ESDM Official, Seeks Coal Production Data in Former Kukar Regent Case
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has examined the Director of Coal Business Development at the Directorate General of Minerals and Coal, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Asep Permana. The KPK requested data on coal production in metric tonnes linked to corporate suspects in the bribery case involving former Kutai Kartanegara (Kukar) Regent Rita Widyasari.
“Today, Saudara AP was summoned and cooperatively attended to provide a statement, during which investigators requested, among other things, data on coal production in metric tonnes related to the corporate suspects,” KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo told reporters at the KPK building in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Monday (15/6/2026).
Budi stated that the examination of Asep was conducted to supplement the statements of previous witnesses. He noted that investigators had also confirmed and compared non-tax state revenue (PNBP) data from the coal production figures.
“This includes PNBP from hauling activities, as well as jetty or port operations used to transport the coal. There are indeed PNBP obligations that must be paid by companies conducting activities in the mining sector,” he said.
Rita Widyasari was initially named a suspect in a bribery and gratification case in 2017 and subsequently stood trial for gratification. In 2018, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Jakarta Central Corruption Court, along with a fine of Rp 600 million, subsidiary confinement of six months, and revocation of political rights for five years. The court found her guilty of accepting Rp 110 billion in gratuities related to project licensing in Kutai Kartanegara. Her appeal was ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court in 2021, and she was incarcerated at Pondok Bambu Prison. Rita was released on 17 August 2025 after completing her sentence for the gratification case. However, she remains a suspect in a separate money laundering (TPPU) investigation, with the KPK revealing in July 2024 that she had also received funds from mining entrepreneurs.