RI Ombudsman Apologises for Arrest of Hery Susanto
The Indonesian Ombudsman has apologised for the arrest of Hery Susanto by the Attorney General’s Office as a suspect in an alleged criminal corruption case concerning the governance of nickel mining from 2013 to 2025. The arrest took place a week after Hery was inaugurated as Chairman of the Indonesian Ombudsman for the 2026-2031 period.
“The leadership of the Indonesian Ombudsman for the 2026-2031 period conveys an apology for the public discomfort and regrets that this incident occurred, while strongly committing to continue maintaining public trust in the task of supervising public services with full integrity,” said Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Ombudsman Rahmadi Indra Tektona in his official statement on Thursday, 16 April 2026.
Rahmadi stated that the leadership of the Indonesian Ombudsman respects the ongoing legal process and hands over the handling of this case to law enforcement authorities.
To ensure the continuity of duties and services to the public, Rahmadi said that the leadership of the Indonesian Ombudsman will ensure the necessary internal steps in accordance with institutional mechanisms. In addition, the public service supervision function will continue to run as it should and will not be disrupted by the ongoing legal process.
The Attorney General’s Office designated Hery Susanto as a suspect in the alleged corruption case of nickel mining business governance in Southeast Sulawesi for the period 2013-2025, last Wednesday. The suspect designation came just a few days after Hery Susanto was inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto as Chairman of the Indonesian Ombudsman, on Friday, 10 April 2026.
Hery is charged with violating Article 12 letter a, subsidiarily Article 5 paragraph 2 of the Corruption Eradication Law or Article 606 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code. The Attorney General’s Office suspects Hery of receiving Rp 1.5 billion so that the Ombudsman would issue an Examination Result Report (LHP) whose contents corrected the decision of the Ministry of Forestry regarding the calculation of non-tax state revenue (PNBP). That calculation was carried out by the Ministry of Forestry to PT Toshida Indonesia.