TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Attorney General's Office has named Bambang Gatot Ariyono as a suspect in alleged criminal acts of corruption in the tin trading system. Bambang was the former Director General of Minerals and Coal at the Energy Ministry between 2015 and 2020.

Kuntadi, director of the investigation of the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) at the AGO, said Bambang was named as a suspect based on evidence obtained from the cross-examination of witnesses that took place on Wednesday, May 29.

"Today we cross-examined four witnesses," he said. "One of them is [Bambang Gatot Ariyono], whose status has been raised to suspect based on sufficient evidence," Kuntadi said at the Attorney General's Office in Jakarta on May 29.

Kuntadi said Bambang Gatot is suspected of changing the amount of tin in the 2019 work plan and budget from 30,217 tons to 68,300 tons. This action is considered to be against the law and was done without proper studies.

Based on the results of the investigation, the witness said, Bambang is suspected of facilitating transaction activities involving illegally produced tin. "The 2019 RKAB was changed by ignoring procedures, resulting in a significant increase of 100 percent," Kuntadi said.

Kuntadi said the examination of Gatot and four other witnesses was still ongoing. He said he would decide on Bambang's detention status after the witness interviews were completed.

Bambang Gatot is charged with violating Article 2 (1) and Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of the Anti-Corruption Law in conjunction with Article 55 (1) (1).

Adil Al Hasan

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