Jakarta – The Coalition of Anti-Plantation Mafia in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, allege corruption in oil palm plantations belonging to five companies in Sambas and Bengkayang.

The coalition of NGOs suspect the companies of clearing forests for palm plantations without the necessary permits.

One of the NGOs, Borneo People's Contact, said the violations caused state losses of around Rp 70 trillion (US$8.1 billion) from the 1.3 million hectares of land cleared in the province.

The coalition said in a release made available on Tuesday the corruption included bribes to obtain permits, granting licenses for the officials' families or cronies, unlicensed operations, price inflation in the procurement of oil palm seeds and tax evasion.

The coalition will report these cases to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and Anti-Judiciary Mafia Taskforce.

Currently, Indonesia has about 7.5 million hectares of oil palm plantations, 45 percent of which are managed by smallholders.