Brother of former VP Jusuf Kalla named suspect in Kalbar PLTU corruption case
Tuesday, October 7 2025 - 07:45 AM WIB
The Corruption Eradication Task Force (Kortas Tipikor) of the Indonesian National Police has named Halim Kalla, President Director of PT BRN and younger brother of former Vice President Jusuf Kalla, as a suspect in a corruption case involving the construction of the Kalbar 1 coal-fired power plant (PLTU) from 2008 to 2018.
Alongside Halim Kalla, authorities have also named Fahmi Mochtar, who served as President Director of PLN from 2008 to 2009, as a suspect in the case.
Inspector General Cahyono Wibowo, head of Kortas Tipikor, announced during a press conference on Monday, October 6, that four suspects had been formally named following a case review session held on Friday, October 3.
“The suspects are FM (Fahmi Mochtar), then-President Director of PLN; HK (Halim Kalla), President Director of PT BRN; RR, Director of PT BRN; and HYL, Director of PT Praba,” he stated.
During the same session, Police Brigadier General Totok Suharyanto, Director of Enforcement at Kortas Tipikor, detailed irregularities in the Kalbar PLTU project, which he said had been abandoned since 2016 due to abuse of power.
Although the project received multiple deadline extensions through ten contract amendments up until 2018, it was never completed or put into operation.
Totok revealed that the case stemmed from a tender issued by PLN for the Kalbar PLTU construction project, which was to be financed via commercial credit. However, investigators found that prior to the official tender process, PLN had already colluded with potential suppliers linked to PT BRN to ensure the company would win the bid.
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Despite failing to meet administrative and technical requirements, the PLN procurement committee approved and awarded the contract to a joint operation (KSO) comprising PT BRN, Alston, and OJSC.
“Evidence suggests that Alston and OJSC were never officially part of the KSO led by PT BRN,” said Totok. “In fact, before the contract was signed in 2009, the BRN KSO had already transferred the work to PT PI.”
He added that the KSO’s bank account was controlled by PT BRN under an agreement that would provide the company with compensation or ‘fees.’
“When the contract was signed on June 11, 2009, PLN had not yet secured the necessary funding and was aware that the BRN KSO had not fulfilled the required conditions,” Totok continued.
By the initial contract expiration date on February 28, 2012, only 57% of the project had been completed. Although the contract was later extended to December 31, 2018, progress only reached 85.56%, and the plant remained unfinished.
According to investigators, the KSO BRN and PT PI claimed they were unable to complete the project due to financial shortfalls. However, financial transaction records show that project payments made to the suspects were traced back to the KSO BRN account.
“KSO BRN received payments from PLN amounting to Rp 323.19 billion for civil construction work and US$62.4 million for mechanical and electrical work,” said Totok.
As a result of the corruption, PLN has been unable to use the Kalbar 1 PLTU facility, with most buildings and equipment left abandoned, damaged, and rusting.
“The total state financial loss, based on the current exchange rate, is estimated at Rp 1.35 trillion,” concluded Inspector General Cahyono.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak