Govt lifts travel ban on coal miners

The Director General of Imigration has removed the travel ban imposed on 12 executives of the country?s six major coal mining companies after receiving a clearance report from the finance minister

?The travel ban imposed on the coal mining executives was formally removed on Oct. 8,? Director General of Immigration Basyir Ahmad Barmawi said, adding that the ban was lifted upon the request of the finance minister.

The government imposed a travel ban on dozens of executives of six coal mining companies early in August after their companies withheld about Rp 3.36 trillion in royalty payment.

The names of the executives are: Edwin Soerjadjaya (President Commissioner of PT Adaro Indonesia); four directors of PT Arutmin, Kazuya Tanaka, Endang Ruchijat, Ferry Purbaya Wahyu, and Edy Junianto Sobari, and a guarantor Roslan Perkasa Roslani; six top executives of PT Kaltim Prima Coal, Ari Saptari Hudaya (president director), Kenneth Patrick Farrel (director) Abdullah Popo Parulian (commisioner), Rathod Nalinkant Amaratlal (president commisioner), dan Hanibal S. Anwar (director), and former President director of PT Berau Coal, Jeffry Mulyono.

Six of the five coal miners which withheld their royalty payment worth Rp 3.36 trillion (1US$= Rp 9,163) have recently transferred Rp 600 billion in cash to the government?s accounts as a guarantee for the payment for their unpaid royalties

The coal mining companies include Bumi Resources? two subsidiaries PT Kaltim Prima Coal and PT Arutmin Indonesia, PT Berau Coal, PT Adaro and PT Kideco Jaya Agung. (*)