Corruption in Indonesia: Agung Podomoro Land Bribery Case
Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (abbreviated KPK) is satisfied with the decision of the Jakarta Corruption Court (Tipikor) to sentence Ariesman Widjaja, former General Director of Agung Podomoro Land, to three years in prison and IDR 200 million (approx. USD $15,300) in fines (or three additional months inmprisonment). Although prosecutors demanded a four year prison sentence and IDR 250 million in fines, the decision of the court is acceptable according to Indonesia's anti-corruption watchdog.
On 1 September 2016 the Jakarta Corruption Court (Tipikor) found Ariesman Widjaja guilty of bribing Muhammad Sanusi, former legislator of the Jakarta provincial assembly. By bribing Sanusi, the former Agung Podomoro Land (APL) director tried to influence the outcome of deliberations on two draft bills concerning Jakarta's Zoning Plan and Coastal Northern Territory (RZWP3K) for the period 2015-2035 and the North Jakarta Strategic Area Regional Spatial Plan. Former city councilor Sanusi has been named a suspect in this case.
In one of the land reclamation projects off the coast of Jakarta property firm Agung Podomoro Land owns a big stake being one of the main investors behind the construction of a residential and commercial complex on one of the artificial islands, a project called Pluit City. The grand Jakarta Bay reclamation project off the coast of Jakarta, involving the construction of 17 artificial islands including Pluit City, has been halted temporarily after the emergence of this corruption case.
Widjaja's assistant Trinanda Prihantoro, who was tasked to deliver the bribe to former city councilor Sanusi, was also handed a 3.5 years prison sentence and IDR 200 million in fines.
This corruption case is a sensitive one for Agung Podomoro Land, one of Indonesia's biggest property developers. When the case made headlines back in early April 2016, the company's shares - listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange - immediately plunged 10 percent within one day. It took around three months for the company's shares to recover from this shock.
Stock Quote Agung Podomoro Land - APLN:
Corruption in Indonesia
In Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, Indonesia is ranked 88th (2015 edition), implying that there exists a high degree of (perceived) corruption in Southeast Asia's largest economy. While corruption was rather centralized and "orderly" in Suharto's authoritarian New Order government, the era of Reformation not only decentralized power to the regions but also caused the decentralization of corruption and made it less "orderly". Although the various governments in the Reformation era have all stated that the eradication of corruption is among their primary goals (as it would create a more just society), corruption remains a persistent problem in the Indonesian economy and society.
For a detailed overview of this topic visit our Corruption in Indonesia section.