Police Urged to Probe Regulators, Not Just Private Sector, in Coal Corruption Case
Member of House Commission III, Abdullah, has urged the Indonesian National Police to uncover the role of regulators in the alleged corruption case surrounding the fulfilment of coal supplies for coal-fired power plants. The energy trading malpractice is known to have triggered a massive blackout in Sumatra and surrounding areas. “The investigation into the alleged coal corruption case must be a starting point for reforming the handling of corruption in the strategic sector. We hope the police will soon find the parties responsible for this case. Not just from the private sector, but also investigate the regulator’s side, because in a public service sector like this, it is not only companies that have a role,” Abdullah said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Based on the initial findings of the National Police’s Corruption Eradication Corps investigators, two companies are strongly suspected of committing structural legal violations in the supply of the commodity. Several modus operandi include the manipulation of administrative documents and the manipulation of the tonnage quantity of coal sent to the power plant installations. Investigators also found alleged irregularities that resulted in contract payment prices not matching the actual supply conditions in the field. As a result of the practice, which is suspected to have been ongoing for six years, the value of state financial losses is estimated to have reached Rp5 trillion.
Abdullah assessed that corruption in the strategic sector has now evolved with long transaction networks, involving various business entities and complex financial flow systems. “In this context, the success of law enforcement cannot be measured solely by the naming of suspects, but by the state’s ability to dismantle the entire criminal network that allowed the practice to continue for a long time,” said the legislator from the National Awakening Party faction. He further stressed that handling cases in the energy and natural resources sector must prioritise the ‘follow the money’ and ‘follow the asset’ approaches. This step is considered crucial so that the legal process does not only target field-level perpetrators but is also able to identify intellectual actors and beneficial owners, as well as optimally recover state losses through asset seizure. To support this, Abdullah encouraged synergy between the National Police, the Attorney General’s Office, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, the Audit Board, and other law enforcement agencies through the strengthening of a Joint Financial Crime Investigation forum specifically for the natural resources and energy sector.