Police anti-corruption unit raids Surabaya contractor over PG Asembagus project

The Corruption Eradication Corps of the Indonesian National Police raided the office of contractor PT Multinas Tjahja Sejahtera in Surabaya to bolster the investigation into alleged corruption in the development and modernisation project of the Asembagus Sugar Factory in Situbondo, which reportedly caused state losses of Rp645 billion. Head of Operations for the Police Anti-Corruption Corps, Senior Commissioner Achmad Yusuf Afandi, stated in Surabaya on Tuesday that the search aimed to uncover any documents that could strengthen the body of evidence. “After that, we will analyse it to determine who should be held criminally responsible,” he said. The company, located in the Klampis Megah area in Sukolilo, Surabaya, was the winning third-party contractor for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning project for the development and modernisation of PG Asembagus, owned by PT Perkebunan Nusantara XI, covering the period 2016–2022. The Audit Board of Indonesia calculated the potential state loss in the case at Rp645 billion. “Essentially, the work was not carried out properly and correctly. That is what caused the state loss as per the BPK audit findings,” he noted. Besides the PT MTS office, investigators also raided the home of the company’s president director, identified by the initials TD, in the Galaxy Bumi Permai residential area of Surabaya, as well as the office of PT BI on Jalan Veteran in Gresik. “We targeted three locations in total. Two in Surabaya, one in Gresik. All are linked to the PG Asembagus case,” Yusuf said. The seized documents will be taken to Jakarta for further analysis as part of compiling the case file before it is handed over to the public prosecutor. Investigators hope the evidence obtained from the raids will strengthen the case and reveal the parties responsible for the alleged corruption.