KPK Reveals Kuansing Regent Extorted 914 Farmers for Forest Permit Release
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has revealed that a total of 914 members of a Village Unit Cooperative (KUD), comprising local farmers, were extorted by Kuansing Singingi Regent Suhardiman Amby. The money was collected by Suhardiman to process the release of a Limited Production Forest (HPT) area.
“The regent also collected money from 914 KUD members to arrange the forest area release permit,” KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo told reporters at the KPK’s Merah Putih building in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Tuesday (7/7/2026).
Budi explained that the 914 cooperative members or farmers collectively managed a land area of 1,828 hectares. The funds gathered by Suhardiman were subsequently converted from rupiah into Singapore dollars.
“In collecting the money, it is suspected that the funds were then converted into Singapore dollars,” Budi stated.
Previously, the KPK had uncovered other alleged illicit receipts obtained by the Kuansing Regent. These suspected corrupt practices are also linked to the release of the Limited Production Forest area.
“Aside from the alleged bribery related to positions within the Kuansing Regency Government, the KPK also found other alleged receipts by SA concerning the release of the Limited Production Forest area,” said Acting Director of Investigation at the KPK, Achmad Taufik Husein, during a press conference at the KPK building on Wednesday (1/6).
He noted that the regional government is the authority responsible for issuing technical recommendations for forest land release, while the full authority for releasing forest areas lies with the Ministry of Forestry.
Achmad Taufik stated that the money demanded by Suhardiman was partly derived from the business profits of the village cooperative members, who are farmers in Kuansing.
“The money requested is suspected to be a portion of the remaining business results (SHU) of the KUD members, who are farmers in Kuansing. In other words, the income of these farmers, which amounts to hundreds of thousands of rupiah per month, had to be cut in half,” he said.
The KPK had previously named Kuansing Regent Suhardiman Amby as a bribery suspect. Suhardiman is suspected of accepting a Toyota Land Cruiser worth IDR 2 billion in exchange for selecting Zulkarnain as the Regional Secretary.
The case began in April 2025 when there were two candidates for the Kuansing Regional Secretary position: Fahdiansyah, the Assistant I of the Kuansing Regency Government, and Zulkarnain, the Head of the Public Works and Spatial Planning Department. During the process, only Zulkarnain agreed to the regent’s bribe request, leading to his appointment as Regional Secretary.
A total of three individuals have been named as suspects in the case:
Suhardiman Amby, as the Regent of Kuansing
Zulkarnain, as the Regional Secretary of Kuansing
Ardiles, as the President Director of PT MIC