Noel Ebenezer Trial: Witness Describes Paying Rp 250,000 to Obtain SIO, Initially Rp 500,000

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Director of PT Barito Sarana Karya (BSK), Rony Sugiarto, admitted to continuously depositing money for obtaining the Operator Permit (SIO) related to Safety and Occupational Health Certificates (K3) within the Ministry of Manpower (Kemenaker).

This was revealed by Rony when examined as a witness in the trial of the alleged extortion case related to the issuance of K3 certificates, which ensnares former Deputy Minister of Manpower Immanuel Ebenezer alias Noel and other defendants at the Corruption Court, on Monday (6/4/2026).

“As far as I know, the money was for applying for the SIO,” said Rony during the trial.

Rony stated that this practice had been ongoing for several years.

“The last one was Rp 250,000 per SIO. As far as I remember, it was once taught by the previous leadership, initially Rp 500,000. After we objected because it was too expensive, it was eventually negotiated down to Rp 250,000,” he explained.

Rony admitted that he did not receive direct requests from Kemenaker officials regarding the payment.

“There was no direct request to me. But what was taught to me by the former leadership was that certificates or SIOs that had been piling up there, the way to retrieve them was to give a certain amount of money to Kemenaker officials so that the documents could be collected,” he said.

He added that the documents would not be handed over if the money was not provided.

“Because if it is not given, the certificates and SIOs are not handed over to us,” said Rony.

Former Deputy Minister of Manpower (Wamenaker) Immanuel Ebenezer (Noel) and several Kemenaker officials are accused of receiving Rp 6.5 billion from extorting applicants for K3 certificates and licences.

“That the defendant Immanuel Ebenezer Gerungan together with Fahrurozi, Hery Sutanto, Subhan, Gerry Aditya Herwanto Putra, Irvian Bobby Mahendro, Sekarsari Kartika Putri, Anitasari Kusumawati, Supriadi, Miki Mahfud, and Temurila have forced various applicants for K3 certification and licences to give money in a total amount of Rp 6,522,360,000 or at least around that amount,” stated the prosecutor when reading the indictment on 19 January 2026.

The prosecutor explained that this extortion had been ongoing since 2021.

In this case, former Wamenaker Noel and associates are alleged to have used the modus operandi of inflating the issuance fees for K3 certificates.