MBG Case Update: Fictitious CCTV, 41 Names from Sony, and a New Suspect
The Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) is continuing to investigate the corruption case surrounding the management of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme for the 2025-2026 period. Previously, the Kejagung had named a total of five suspects in the case. The five are former Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Dadan Hindayana; former BGN Deputy Heads Sony Sonjaya and Lodewyk Pusung; Sony’s associate, Asep Yusuf Somantri (AYS); and the Commissioner of PT Yasa Artha Trimanunggal (YAT), Andri Mulyono.
The Kejagung explained that the MBG programme should have been managed by Satuan Pelayanan dan Pemenuhan Gizi (SPPG) foundations affiliated with recipient schools. However, in practice, many SPPGs were appointed because they had affiliations with senior BGN officials. Furthermore, many foundations did not actually meet the requirements to become SPPG partners. There was also a mark-up in the procurement prices of goods, resulting in losses that did not support the operational implementation of the MBG. This included 21,801 electric motorcycles valued at Rp1.03 trillion, 32,000 pairs of shoes, 31,994 tablets, and 5,400 75-inch televisions.
Here are several updates on the corruption case involving the flagship programme of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka:
New Suspect
The Kejagung has named one new suspect in the MBG programme management corruption case. The Director of Investigation for the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, stated that the suspect is the Chairperson of the Indonesia Food Security Review Foundation, Glory Harimas Sihombing (GHS). Based on his role, Syarief said Glory, as a private party, was asked by former BGN Head Dadan Hindayana to find partner foundations for the SPPG. “GHS provided a sum of money, both in foreign currency and rupiah, to DH,” he said during a press conference on Thursday (18/6).
Payments to Dadan
The Kejagung stated that Dadan received a series of cash payments from the buying and selling of SPPG locations. Syarief said the money was received by Dadan from Glory Harimas Sihombing. He explained that this began when Dadan tasked Glory with finding partner foundations for the SPPG in the MBG programme. “DH unlawfully gave GHS access to obtain SPPG kitchen locations for foundations owned by GHS,” he said. Syarief stated that Glory subsequently sold the kitchen locations he had obtained to other parties interested in establishing SPPGs at those sites. He said Glory was also given access by Dadan to communicate with the BGN verification team, allowing Glory to determine the status of foundations affiliated with him. “After arranging these SPPG locations, GHS unlawfully provided a sum of money, both in foreign currency and rupiah, to DH,” he explained. Syarief said the cash originated from MBG programme partners who sought help from Dadan and Glory to get their SPPG establishments approved.
Sony Sonjaya Reveals 41 Names
Sony Sonjaya is said to have revealed new names allegedly involved in the MBG programme corruption case. Sony’s lawyer, Krisna Murti, stated that during the examination on Thursday (18/6), the number of names his client submitted to investigators increased from 26 figures to 41 figures. Krisna explained the increase was due to individuals requesting allocations of SPPG locations for parties affiliated with them. “So one person had a table, ‘Sir (Sony), this one has this, this one has this, this one belongs to this Regent,’ like that,” he told reporters. “Earlier, the investigator opened the chat. When the investigator opened it, it turned out there was a table filled with proposals for new people. So the total increased from the 26 plus the new findings, making a total of 41 names,” he added. Nevertheless, he declined to reveal further details about who the figures on the list of 41 are. Krisna also did not confirm the names that have already circulated publicly on social media.
Alleged Fictitious CCTV Procurement
Sony is also said to have submitted findings of an alleged fictitious CCTV procurement for the Free Nutritious Meals programme to the Kejagung. Sony’s lawyer, Krisna Murti, stated that the findings were submitted by his client as one of the considerations for his Justice Collaborator (JC) application to be accepted by investigators. He explained that the alleged fictitious project relates to the procurement of 5,000 CCTV units to be installed in SPPGs and the procurement of fingerprint detection devices for MBG beneficiaries. “One SPPG has 5 CCTVs. So in total, 5,000 CCTVs and fingerprint devices had to be installed. The beneficiaries had to scan their fingerprints to be matched with the SPPG,” he told reporters at the Kejagung Round Building. Krisna claimed that all of this procurement existed before his client served as BGN Deputy Head. He said his client had checked on the project’s existence by summoning the vendor. However, he said, the vendor responsible for the CCTV procurement could not show any CCTV units that had been installed in SPPGs. He stated the project had a budget of around Rp300 billion. Therefore, Krisna urged investigators to also uncover this procurement and the figures involved in it. “He answered that it was a total loss. That means it could be said to be fictitious,” he said.
Kejagung’s Response to Sony’s Testimony
The Director of Investigation for the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, acknowledged that Sony’s examination on Thursday was to delve deeper into the information provided in his JC application to investigators. He also confirmed that Sony was examined as part of the ongoing investigation into the case. “We appreciate the information provided by SS, including the information regarding the CCTV issue. We will check and investigate that later, in addition to what we are currently investigating regarding motorcycles, IT, and other matters,” Syarief told reporters.