AGO probes forestry data in North Konawe nickel permit corruption case
Thursday, January 8 2026 - 10:24 AM WIB
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has expanded its investigation into alleged corruption in the issuance of nickel mining business permits (IUPs) in North Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi, with investigators visiting the Ministry of Forestry on Wednesday (January 7).
The move is part of an ongoing probe by the Special Crimes Directorate under the Office of the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) into a case estimated to have caused state losses of Rp2.7 trillion.
A source at Jampidsus said that the investigators were seeking additional evidence related to the North Konawe case, which was previously investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) before being terminated through an order to stop the investigation (SP3).
“We are looking for old evidence related to the North Konawe case,” the source said told Republika.
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However, the Ministry of Forestry later clarified that the AGO’s presence at its office was not a search, but a data-matching exercise conducted at the Directorate General of Forestry Planning.
In an official statement, the ministry said the investigators were verifying historical data related to changes in forest-area functions, particularly protected forests in several regions. The ministry stressed that the process concerned past decisions and did not involve the current administration.
“The activity was data matching, not a search, and the entire process proceeded smoothly, in an orderly and cooperative manner,” the ministry said, adding that it remains ready to support law enforcement efforts by providing data and information in accordance with prevailing regulations.
AGO spokesperson Anang Supriatna, Head of the Center for Information and Law (Kapuspenkum), said earlier on Wednesday that he had not yet received a formal report from the Jampidsus team regarding law enforcement actions at the Ministry of Forestry. He said the AGO would issue an official update once information was confirmed.
The AGO formally announced on December 31, 2025, that Jampidsus had launched an investigation into alleged corruption linked to the issuance of nickel mining permits in North Konawe. The probe has been underway since August–September 2025.
Investigators have found indications that a former head of the North Konawe regional government issued mining permits to at least 17 nickel companies. The investigation also uncovered evidence that mining activities by several permit holders encroached into protected forest areas, prompting coordination with the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) to calculate state losses.
The case was originally handled by the KPK, which began its investigation in 2017 and named then-North Konawe Regent Aswad Sulaiman as a suspect in October that year. The KPK alleged that Aswad issued permits for 17 nickel mining companies in a single day, some of which overlapped with concession areas legally held by state miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam).
According to the KPK, Aswad received Rp13 billion in illicit payments, while state losses were estimated at Rp2.7 trillion. Although the KPK had planned to detain him in September 2023, the move was canceled due to health reasons. It later emerged that the KPK issued an SP3 in December 2024, a decision that was only publicly acknowledged in December 2025.
The Ministry of Forestry said it welcomed the AGO’s efforts to strengthen forest governance, stressing that coordination between ministries and law enforcement agencies is key to ensuring transparent, fair, and sustainable management of Indonesia’s forest resources.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak