Over 20 Names Identified in Alleged National Nutrition Agency Corruption; Sony to Apply for Justice Collaborator Status
The former Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Sony Sonjaya, has officially filed an application to become a justice collaborator (JC) regarding the alleged corruption in the management of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme for 2025-2026. Sony has expressed his readiness to reveal the involvement of other parties suspected of participating in the programme’s mismanagement.
“We have just come from the detention centre to obtain a statement from our client, in which our client stated that he will apply for JC status,” said Sony Sonjaya’s legal counsel, Krisna Murti, to journalists at the Attorney General’s Office in South Jakarta on Monday (8/6/2026).
Krisna emphasised that this JC step is not an attempt to evade legal consequences. On the contrary, Sony intends to be cooperative to uncover the actors involved in this strategic presidential programme. “We are not avoiding the legal issue, but we want to be cooperative in revealing who is involved in this flagship presidential programme. So, once again, we are not evading,” he stated.
When asked about the parties involved, Krisna revealed that Sony has begun naming individuals, with at least more than 20 names already mentioned. “More than 20 names have been mentioned, but our client said that is only a portion. Because yesterday’s examination was quite exhausting, more will be revealed during the follow-up examination. Essentially, these names are only a part of it,” Krisna explained.
Krisna also disclosed the reasons why Sony is unwilling to take the blame alone. He noted that many parties serving as Persons in Charge (PIC) are suspected of abusing funds and authority. “For example, our client allocated this point, say 50 to A, 100 to B. It turns out only a small amount was built, and the rest was sold. Then they (the PICs) claim our client is the PIC. How can the money go to all of them, yet the burden is placed on our client?” he said.
In addition to the allocation of locations, Sony plans to expose alleged irregularities in various procurement processes within BGN projects. “In tomorrow’s examination, our client will reveal how the tender process for motorcycles, IT, tablets, socks, and so on, was conducted. This will be revealed on a larger scale, and it is certain that our client was not in charge of those procurements,” he concluded.
Previously, the Attorney General’s Office had named Sony, former Head of BGN Dadan Hindayana, and former Deputy Head of BGN Lodewyk Pusung as suspects in this case. The three are suspected of intervening in the verification process of BGN partner portals to ensure that foundations owned by them passed despite being unqualified. Furthermore, the three suspects are allegedly affiliated with several School Nutrition Implementation Units (SPPG). Through these affiliations, several SPPG foundations received billions of rupiah every day.
Beyond the issue of foundations, the Attorney General’s Office has detected suspect intervention in the procurement of goods and services that did not meet real needs and involved price markups. All such procurements have already been realised. The goods caught in this corruption vortex include the procurement of 21,801 electric motorcycles worth approximately Rp 1 trillion, 32,000 pairs of shoes, 31,000 tablets, and 5,400 75-inch televisions.