Samin Tan Evades KPK but Ensnared by Police and Prosecutors
PT Asmin Koalindo Tuhup (AKT) boss Samin Tan became a talking point after being acquitted in a case of alleged bribery involving former House of Representatives member Eni Maulani Saragih handled by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). He now holds suspect status in two cases, at the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) and the Police’s Corruption Eradication Corps (Kortas Tipikor Polri).
Samin Tan’s name became known to the public as one of Indonesia’s richest people, or ‘crazy rich’, according to Forbes magazine in 2011. He was listed among the 40 richest people in Indonesia at that time. His name later emerged in the alleged bribery case against former House member Eni Saragih handled by the KPK in 2019.
Samin Tan was placed on the wanted list in May 2020 after failing to appear for questioning several times. He was arrested by the KPK on 5 April 2021 and subsequently underwent legal proceedings. He was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of Rp 250 million. However, the judge acquitted him on 30 August 2021. The KPK appealed the acquittal, but the Supreme Court rejected the appeal, leaving Samin Tan a free man.
In March 2026, Samin Tan’s name resurfaced in a corruption case. This time, he was named a suspect by the Attorney General’s Office. The Director of Investigation for the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, announced the naming of one suspect, identified as ST, after investigators obtained sufficient evidence through witness examinations and searches in Jakarta, West Java, South Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan. Samin Tan was immediately detained. The Attorney General’s Office suspects that Samin Tan, as the beneficial owner of PT AKT, committed irregularities in mining management in Murung Raya, Central Kalimantan. PT AKT’s permit as a coal mining contractor was revoked in 2017, but the company allegedly continued to mine and sell coal illegally until 2025, using invalid permits in cooperation with state officials responsible for supervising mining activities, causing state financial and economic losses.
Most recently, Samin Tan was again named a suspect, this time by the Police’s Kortas Tipikor alongside three other individuals. They are suspected of corruption related to the sale and purchase of fuel oil between PT Pertamina Patra Niaga (PT PPN) and PT AKT between 2009 and 2012. The investigation began in 2022. The suspects include PT PPN’s Marketing Director from 2008 to 2011, its Vice President of Sales for the eastern region from 2009 to 2013, its General Manager of Treasury and Vice President of Treasury, and Samin Tan as shareholder and President Director of PT AKT. Investigators have seized Rp 2.3 billion in cash. The case allegedly originated from a cooperation agreement for the sale of high-speed diesel between PT PPN and PT AKT, initially using secure payment mechanisms via letters of credit. However, fuel deliveries continued without mitigation despite repeated late payments and arrears by PT AKT. A policy change through an agreement addendum further benefited PT AKT, and the agreement was not reported to superiors, rendering debt monitoring ineffective. PT AKT obtained very large fuel sales financing facilities without adequate guarantees, shifting all risk of loss to PT PPN. From a total distribution of approximately 191.37 million litres of fuel worth USD 137.29 million, unmet payment obligations resulted in state financial losses of USD 30,370,958.61, or approximately Rp 486 billion, according to a state loss audit by the Supreme Audit Agency.