NTB Prosecutor's Office Requests PT GNE Tax Data from Finance Ministry for Investigation

The Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) High Prosecutor’s Office has requested tax data for PT Gerbang NTB Emas (GNE) from the Ministry of Finance as part of an investigation into alleged corruption within the regional company. Assistant for Special Crimes Muh. Zulkifli Said stated in Mataram on Monday that the request aims to complete the case file for the calculation of state financial losses. The tax data request is related to the cooperation between PT GNE and PT Berkah Air Laut (BAL) in Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno. Once the tax data is obtained, investigators will submit it to the NTB Representative Office of the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP), which is currently auditing the state losses in the case. Zulkifli emphasised that the investigation is ongoing and no suspects have been named, as investigators are still gathering evidence, including the state loss audit results. In a separate matter, former PT GNE Director for the 2019–2024 period, Samsul Hadi, and PT BAL Director William John Matheson have been convicted in a water pollution case with legally binding rulings. The cooperation was originally intended for seawater desalination, but PT BAL was found to have supplied clean water through groundwater drilling, violating the agreement. In July 2025, the Supreme Court rejected the cassation appeals, finalising the High Court’s decision, though William John Matheson remains a fugitive. The corruption investigation has involved examining officials from provincial and district governments, as well as PT GNE and PT BAL executives. Investigators have also sought expert opinions from the Indonesian Drinking Water Companies Association and seized documents during searches at the NTB Regional Secretariat’s Economic Bureau and PT GNE’s office in May 2025. The probe is tracing alleged corruption in the management of PT GNE’s assets and finances, which originate from regional government capital injections, including land and buildings that have been used as collateral for bank loans and still carry outstanding debt. PT GNE management previously stated that the remaining debt from the asset collateralisation stems from the leadership period of former director Samsul Hadi, who has been summoned multiple times by investigators to provide testimony.