Ombudsman Establishes Ethics Panel to Judge Hery Susanto

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Ombudsman (ORI) has established an ethics panel to judge the inactive Chairman of the ORI, Hery Susanto, after he became embroiled in an alleged nickel corruption case.

Deputy Chairman of the ORI, Rahmadi Indra Tektona, stated that the ethics panel, consisting of five individuals, was formed as a concrete commitment by the ORI to respond to existing dynamics and follow up on the legal case faced by Hery.

“The institution has officially formed the ethics panel, which was established through the Decision of the ORI Chairman Number 73 of 2026 on the Formation of the Ethics Panel for the examination of alleged violations of the code of ethics by the ORI Chairman for the 2026-2031 period, Hery Susanto,” Rahmadi said during a press conference in Jakarta on Friday.

Once formed, the ethics panel will examine the case involving Hery and decide on the sanctions to be imposed.

He explained that the decision to form the ethics panel was taken during a plenary meeting of the Ombudsman leadership, based on ORI Regulation Number 40 of 2019 on the Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct for Ombudsman Personnel.

According to him, this step is a manifestation and strong determination of the ORI to continue enforcing the code of ethics and code of conduct for all Ombudsman personnel without exception.

“We hope that the presence of national figures with high reputation and integrity in this ethics panel will serve as a guarantee for the ethical enforcement process that is carried out independently, objectively, and transparently,” he added.

Previously, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) named ORI Chairman for the 2026-2031 period, Hery Susanto, as a suspect in an alleged criminal corruption case in nickel mining business governance activities from 2013 to 2025.

“The determination of the suspect was made after the investigation team obtained sufficient evidence through a series of investigative actions, searches, and others,” he said at the AGO’s Special Criminal Directorate Building in Jakarta on Thursday (16/4).

In the case, Hery is alleged to have received bribes amounting to Rp1.5 billion from PT TSHI, which stemmed from PT TSHI’s issues with the calculation of non-tax state revenues (PNBP) by the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut).

Subsequently, PT TSHI sought a solution by colluding with Hery Susanto, who was then a Commissioner of the ORI.

To carry out this, he said, Hery received a sum of money from LKM, who is the Director of PT TSHI.