Presidential Palace Responds to Sony's Claim of 41 Names Involved in Free Nutritious Meal Corruption

The Presidential Palace has responded to the statement by Sony, a suspect in the corruption case involving the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme, who claimed that 41 names are now suspected of involvement. Deputy Minister of State Secretary (Wamenesneg) Juri Ardiantoro gave a brief response, stating that other facts in the case will be revealed during the trial. He urged all parties to wait.

“That will be revealed during the trial. Just wait for the trial,” said Juri after a meeting at the House of Representatives (DPR) on Tuesday (23/6).

Through his legal counsel, Krisna Murti, Sony revealed that the number of parties involved in the MBG project corruption case has increased from the initial 26 to 41 names. Krisna made this statement after his client underwent further examination at the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung).

According to Krisna, the increase in names occurred because an individual requested allocations of Service Unit Points for Fulfilling Nutrition (SPPG) for parties affiliated with them. “During the examination, the investigators opened a chat, and it turned out there was a table containing proposals for new people. So the total has increased from 26 to 41 names,” he said on Friday (19/6).

His team has not yet disclosed to the media who the 41 figures are. Krisna also did not confirm names that have been circulating publicly on social media. However, Sony revealed during the investigation that a figure with the initials ‘NSD’ had asked him to change the foundations for the SPPG that had already been approved, without providing an official letter.

The Attorney General’s Office has named a total of six suspects in the corruption case involving the management of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme for the 2025-2026 period. In addition to Sony, the suspects include former Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Dadan Hindayana; Lodewyk Pusung; Sony’s associate, Asep Yusuf Somantri (AYS); Commissioner of PT. Yasa Artha Trimanunggal (YAT), Andri Mulyono; and Chairperson of the Indonesia Food Security Review Foundation, Glory Harimas Sihombing.