Samin Tan Faces Rp 4.2 Trillion Fine, Who Are the State Officials Involved?

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has yet to name additional suspects in the coal mining corruption case involving suspect Samin Tan (ST). Head of the AGO’s Public Relations and Legal Information Centre, Anang Supriatna, stated that the investigation team from the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) is still probing the involvement of numerous state officials suspected in the scandal surrounding Samin Tan’s mining activities through PT Asmin Koalindo Tuhup (AKT). “Clearly, the investigation team is currently delving deeper into the involvement of various parties, including state officials and other affiliated entities suspected of being connected to this case,” Anang said at the AGO in Jakarta on Wednesday (1 April 2026). Anang noted that the ongoing investigation is gathering evidence and witness statements related to the matter. On Tuesday (31 March 2026), investigators conducted further searches at the offices of the Port Authority in South Kalimantan (KSOP Kalsel) and Central Kalimantan (KSOP Kalteng). Jampidsus Investigation Director Syarief Sulaiman Nahdi explained that the searches at the KSOP offices were aimed at finding evidence concerning the coal shipping transportation activities carried out by PT AKT from 2016 to 2025. “Several items of evidence, including documents and electronic evidence, were seized during the searches at the KSOP offices,” Syarief said. He added that his investigation team would continue to probe the alleged involvement of officials in the Samin Tan corruption case. Rp 4.2 Trillion Fine The case implicating Samin Tan originated from an investigation by the 2025 Forest Area Regulation Task Force (Satgas PKH). Task Force Spokesperson Barita Simanjuntak revealed that PT AKT was one of thousands of mining and plantation companies inventoried for encroaching on state lands and operating in unlicensed areas. “This includes the company owned by suspect ST,” Barita said on Saturday (28 March 2026). The Satgas PKH had directly verified and clarified with Samin Tan and PT AKT regarding their illegal activities over nine years. It was found that PT AKT controlled at least 1,699 hectares of coal mining area in Murung Raya Regency, Central Kalimantan, based on a Coal Mining Business Work Agreement (PKP2B) that had been revoked. From December 2025 to January 2026, the Satgas PKH issued summonses and demanded administrative accountability for PT AKT’s illegal activities. The task force, established by President Prabowo Subianto, required PT AKT to pay a sanction fine of Rp 4.24 trillion for mining and sales activities from 2017 to 2025. However, the administrative sanction was ignored. Consequently, the Satgas PKH escalated PT AKT’s illegal activities to the legal realm. “This is part of the forest area regulation process, which is then followed up legally by the Jampidsus team at the Attorney General’s Office to ensure law enforcement,” Barita stated. On Friday night (27 March 2026), Jampidsus announced Samin Tan as a suspect and placed him in detention. Jampidsus Investigation Director Syarief Sulaiman Nahdi explained that Samin Tan was charged for his role as the beneficial owner of PT AKT, which is affiliated with PT Borneo Lumbung Energi & Metal (BLEM). “The designation of ST as a suspect was made after the investigation team obtained sufficient evidence through a series of investigative actions, including witness examinations and searches,” Syarief said on Saturday (28 March 2026). The case that led Samin Tan to detention concerns PT AKT’s activities as a coal mining contractor on government-owned land in Murung Raya Regency, Central Kalimantan. The coal mining contract was based on a Coal Mining Business Agreement (PKP2B) dated 31 May 1999. In October 2017, the mining contract ended with the issuance of a termination letter via the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources’ decision No. 3714 K/30/MEM/2017. However, that ministerial decision did not stop PT AKT’s mining activities. “With the termination as per the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources’ decision, PT AKT should no longer have the right to conduct coal mining in the PKP2B agreement area,” Syarief said. It is known that PT AKT continued coal mining until 2025 and conducted sales of mining outputs in the area referring to the original PKP2B. “The activities carried out by PT AKT were unlawful and illegal,” Syarief stated. The activities by PT AKT naturally involved suspect Samin Tan along with his affiliates. Investigations revealed that the coal mining and sales activities by PT AKT since the PKP2B revocation relied on invalid permits issued by state officials. And this, according to Syarief, caused financial losses to the state and the national economy. “Suspect Samin Tan, through PT AKT and its affiliates, unlawfully conducted mining and sales using invalid permit documents in collaboration with state officials responsible for supervising mining activities,” Syarief said. “Thus, the actions by suspect Samin Tan through PT AKT harmed the state’s finances and/or economy,” he added.