Police Examine 15 Witnesses in Coal Corruption Case

Polda Metro Jaya held a press conference on the progress of the investigation into alleged corruption cases involving coal, Asabri, and Krakatau Steel, following searches at 12 locations from Jakarta to Sentul, Bogor Regency. The Head of Public Relations of Polda Metro Jaya, Commissioner Budi Hermanto, stated that investigators from the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate and the Police Corruption Eradication Corps have examined 15 witnesses in the case involving alleged corruption and money laundering related to coal and Asabri. ‘Fifteen witnesses have been questioned so far,’ he said on Friday (10/7). Among the witnesses are two employees of de’Clan Signature café in Cipete, South Jakarta, and four employees of Koin Money Changer in Cipete, with the initials DH, HH, ER, and RB. Both locations were searched on Wednesday (8/7). Another witness from a search location in Gandaria, South Jakarta, has the initials DR, and a witness from the Pacific Place search location has the initials TK. ‘Including one witness, T, the driver of DR, as well as a witness named NH. The location searched last night involved a witness with the initials MIL. Two more witnesses are security guards in Sentul with the initials R and A,’ Budi said. He explained that the joint investigation team is continuing to deepen the probe into the three corruption cases. ‘Investigators are taking steps to deepen the investigation into alleged criminal acts of corruption, including bribery, gratification, and money laundering,’ he stated. The Head of the Police Corruption Eradication Corps, Inspector General Totok Suharyanto, previously explained that three corruption cases are being handled through a joint investigation mechanism with Polda Metro Jaya. ‘The handling of corruption and money laundering cases in the legal process for the PLN coal case, then the Asabri case from 2020 to 2025, and the alleged corruption case in the debt settlement process of PT CBS to PT KNI (a subsidiary of Krakatau Steel) from 2020-2025,’ he told reporters at a search location in Cipete. Regarding the case, Budi said investigators have searched 12 locations in the Jakarta area up to Sentul, Bogor, West Java. A number of pieces of evidence, including cash in various currencies such as US and Singapore dollars, as well as dozens of kilograms of gold bullion, were seized by the police during the searches.