Selection Committee Finds No Corruption Indications in Past Selection of Ombudsman Chairman Hery Susanto
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Chairman of the Selection Committee for Candidates for Members of the Ombudsman RI for the 2026-2031 Period, Erwan Agus Purwanto, revealed that his team found no indications of corruption when selecting Ombudsman Chairman Hery Susanto in the past.
Hery Susanto is currently detained and named as a suspect in a criminal corruption case concerning the governance of nickel mining businesses in Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra).
“We can state that, from the data we obtained during that selection process, we have not found any indications of corrupt acts by Mr Hery Susanto,” Erwan told Kompas.com on Friday (17/4/2026).
Erwan said the selection committee was shocked to hear the news of Hery Susanto’s corruption.
He emphasised that the data they possessed during the selection process had been directly confirmed with the prospective Ombudsman members.
Furthermore, Erwan explained the selection mechanism for Ombudsman candidates for 2026-2031 through rigorous stages.
These include administrative selection, competency tests related to Ombudsman duties, assessment centre (psychology), interviews, public complaint gathering for each selection stage, track record checks, and screenings by the KPK, BIN, up to PPATK, which hold data to ensure candidate integrity is not entangled in corruption cases.
In addition, Erwan said, the committee also conducted searches of news reports in print and online media regarding the candidates’ track records.
“The selection is also conducted transparently. Each stage opens space for public complaints. Interviews are also made open by inviting academics, practitioners, and activists to attend and witness the vision, mission, track record, and notes from the screening results that we confirmed during the interviews,” Erwan added.
“The investigation team has named suspect HS,” said Anang in a press conference at the Attorney General’s Office, Jakarta, on Thursday (16/4/2026).
Based on Kompas.com’s observations at the Attorney General’s Office in South Jakarta, Hery Susanto appeared to be escorted by investigators wearing a pink vest.
Hery Susanto’s hands were also seen handcuffed when he was brought out of the Attorney General’s Office building.
President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto witnessed the oath-taking of nine members of the Ombudsman RI for the 2026-2031 period at the State Palace, Presidential Palace Complex, Central Jakarta, on Friday (10/4/2026).