Purbaya Prepares Sanctions for 10 Firms Suspected of Export-Import Manipulation

Jakarta – Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa confirmed that his ministry is reviewing sanctions for 10 companies suspected of manipulating export-import activities (trade misinvoicing) without shutting them down.

‘We will not close the companies, but they must settle their liabilities as per the audit. We will determine the best course of action,’ Purbaya stated at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs in Jakarta on Tuesday, 26 May 2026.

He explained that the Finance Ministry has conducted an initial investigation and is coordinating with the Financial Audit and Development Agency (BPKP) and the Attorney General’s Office.

So far, Purbaya said 20 companies have been reviewed, with a focus on 10 large firms in the crude palm oil (CPO) industry.

He stated that the modus operandi involves manipulating export values through Singapore-based trading companies, reporting lower export values than the actual selling price in destination countries, as confirmed by cross-referencing export data with destination country records.

‘We reviewed 20 companies, the rest are smaller. We’re focusing on the larger ones, all of them. If the big ones are doing this, the small ones probably are too,’ he added.

To address underinvoicing and transfer pricing, the government established PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI), a state-owned enterprise (SOE) specifically for natural resource exports to boost state revenue.

Previously, Danantara Indonesia’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Pandu Sjahrir said DSI would operate as a profit-oriented business managing natural resource exports, in line with the Investment Management Agency (BPI) Danantara’s business model.

DSI will initially operate as an agent business before expanding its functions based on human resource capacity.