Ombudsman Chief Allegedly Receives Rp 1.5 Billion Bribe from Nickel Mining Company, Here's the Modus Operandi

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has placed the Chairman of the Indonesian Ombudsman, Hery Susanto, in detention. The detention was carried out after the investigative team from the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) designated Hery as a suspect in connection with receiving money amounting to Rp 1.5 billion from PT TSHI. The funds were for arranging the audit report of the nickel mining company in Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra). “Jampidsus has designated HS as a suspect in the criminal corruption case involving the governance of nickel mining trade activities from 2013 to 2025,” stated the Director of Investigations for Jampidsus, Syarif Sulaeman Nahdi, at the AGO’s Round Building in Jakarta on Thursday (16/4/2026). Before being designated as a suspect, Jampidsus investigators arrested Hery at his residence in Jakarta in the early hours of Thursday (16/4/2026). After the arrest, the investigators took him to Jampidsus for examination. Syarif explained that the examination revealed evidence related to the receipt of the money. It was uncovered that LKM, as the director of PT TSHI, which conducts nickel mining exploration in Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra) and is based in Jakarta, has had a long-standing relationship with Hery. Before being inaugurated as the Ombudsman Chairman for the 2026-2031 period on 10 April 2026, Hery was known to have served as a Commissioner of the Ombudsman from 2021-2026. “So, the criminal act committed by HS occurred since he was a commissioner,” said Syarif. The investigative team, he said, found evidence of HS receiving money from PT TSHI.