Jakarta – The recent reporting of Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Edward "Eddy" Omar Sharif Hiariej to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) over alleged bribery reopens a case of a suspected hostile takeover of nickel-mining company PT Citra Lampia Mandiri (CLM) by a group of people with connections to law enforcement officers and politicians.
It is the Indonesian Corruption Watch chairman Sugeng Tegung Santoso who reported Eddy Hiariej to the KPK over a bribe he claimed Eddy received of Rp 7 billion (US$452,000) via two of his assistants from CLM. It is also Sugeng who disclosed to the public the alleged hostile takeover of CLM by PT Aserra Capital (AC) and PT Aserra Mineralindo Investasma (AMI), belonging to Zainal Abidinsyah Siregar.
According to Sugeng, AMI took over CLM, which owns 2,660 hectares of nickel mining concession in East Luwu regency, South Sulawesi, by paying only US$2.5 million, or about 10 percent of the actual agreed price of $23.5 million, supported by various parties using a combination of civil legal cases and a criminal case. According to Tempo's report, the takeover involved coal baron Andi "Haji Isam" Syamsuddin Arsyad and a number of high-ranking police personnel.
The bribery case started when Helmut Hermawan, then-president director of CLM, was fighting against AC and AMI over the latter's hostile takeover of CLM. Helmut asked lawyer Anita Zizlavsky to connect him with her childhood friend, Eddy Hiariej. Helmut then asked Eddy to block Kumham's approval of CLM's revised company deed to prevent the takeover becoming legal.
According to Tempo's report, CLM transferred Rp 2 billion to Eddy via his assistant Yogi Arie Rukmana on 27 April 2022 and then another Rp 2 billion on 17 May 2022 and US$200,000 or equivalent with Rp 3 billion in cash delivered by Yogi between May and October 2022. Upon discovering the transfer of money, Anita was unhappy and told Eddy to return the money. Eddy then returned the Rp 7 billion via Yogi to CLM on Oct. 17, 2022. On the same day, CLM, under the new management, returned the money back via Yosi Andika Mulyadi, another assistant to Eddy Hiariej.
Before being summoned by the KPK, Eddy Hiariej took the initiative and went to the KPK on Monday to make clarification over the bribery report, saying that he submitted a number of pieces of evidence to the KPK. He said that his assistants Yogi and Yosi received the money because they were lawyers to Helmut, then-president director of CLM. Helmut was also a client to Sugeng. On the same day, the KPK summoned Sugeng to question him over his reports against Eddy Hiariej.
Helmut, who was fighting against the takeover of CLM by AC and AMI, was arrested by the South Sulawesi Police in February for what the police claimed was the giving of false testimony as president director of CLM. Upon his arrest, netizens protested via social media against what they saw as the criminalization of Helmut.
What's more
The hostile takeover started when CLM's majority shareholder PT Asia Pacific Mining Resources (APMR) signed two separate agreements with AC and its affiliate AMI back in 2019. First, in January 2019, APMR and AC signed a six-month sale-purchase agreement, where APMR would sell its 85 percent stake at CLM to AC for $23.5 million. AC paid APMR $2.5 million as a down-payment with the remaining to be paid after due diligence was completed. Then, in May 2019, APMR signed a Rp 20 billion loan agreement with AMI, with the latter entitled to 50 percent share of APMR and a 50 percent profit from CLM.
In February 2020, APMR sued AC to the Indonesian National Arbitration Agency (BANI) for not fulfilling the contract. AC sued APMR back to BANI for cheating. In May 2021, BANI decided to reject APMR's petition and sided with AC and ordered APMR to transfer its assets worth $2.5 million to AC. In June 2021, APMR filed a legal case against BANI to the South Jakarta District Court. In September 2021, the court issued its verdict, nullifying BANI's decision. In February 2022, the Supreme Court confirmed the South Jakarta District Court's verdict.
In the other case of loan agreement, APMR returned the Rp 20 billion to AMI and canceled the agreement in October 2019. But AMI disagreed. In January 2020, APMR brought the case to BANI, and AMI also took the case to BANI. In May 2021, BANI issued its verdict, siding with AMI, and told APMR to transfer 50 percent of its shares to AMI. In July 2021, APMR took BANI's verdict to the South Jakarta District Court, which in September 2021 rejected APMR. In April 2022, the court issued an execution order of its decision.
Based on the court's execution order, AMI restructured APMR's company deed via notary Oktaviana Kusuma Anggraini. On Sept. 13, 2022, Zainal Abidinsyah called APMR's shareholders' meeting to change the management of APMR and CLM.
What we've heard
A source with knowledge of the hostile takeover of PT Citra Lampia Mandiri (CLM) said that Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Edward "Eddy" Omar Sharif Hiariej began to turn around and support Zainal Abidinsyah Siregar after learning that Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, also known as Haji Isam, was behind the dispute.
Initially, Deputy Minister Eddy was introduced by his childhood friend to help CLM president director Helmut Hermawan. Helmut and Zainal had a dispute over the management of CLM, which owns the nickel mining concession in East Luwu, South Sulawesi was already ongoing.
Before knowing that Haji Isam was in Zainal's camp, Eddy and his two personal assistants had met Helmut during lunch at the CLM office on July 2022. It was from that meeting that Eddy entrusted his two assistants to become CLM commissioners.
Later, Eddy replaced one of his assistants with a lawyer who was also a former student of his to sit in a commissioner's chair. Helmut had transferred Rp 7 billion through Eddy's personal assistants in installments until October 2022. The money was given to Eddy to block the company deed from Zainal's camp. In return, Eddy is expected to approve the Helmut side's version of the company deed.
It turns out many strong names are involved in this corporate dispute. After learning that Haji Isam was in Zainal's camp, Helmut approached former Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman, who is also the former Chief Commissioner of PT Jhonnlin Agro Raya, a company owned by Isam. Helmut met with Amran twice around the beginning of September 2022. Eddy and Golkar Party politician Idrus Marham attended the meeting.
Eddy also met with Haji Isam twice, around the end of September 2022. In one of the meetings that was also attended by Idrus Marham, Isam asked Helmut to give in and hand over 45 percent of CLM shares to Isam. Meanwhile, Eddy Hiariej and Idrus Marham were also promised to receive shares.
After the meeting at Isam's house, PT Asia Pacific Mining Resources (APMR), the parent company of CLM, sold most of CLM's shares to PT Ferolindo Mineral Nusantara, a company owned by Haji Isam. The sale of shares occurred after APMR and CLM were fully controlled by Zainal's camp.
After turning to support Zainal's camp, through his personal assistant, Eddy returned the money Helmut had given him. However, Helmut transferred the money back. Later, Indonesia Police Watch Chairman Sugeng Teguh Santoso would use this transfer as the basis for reporting Eddy Hieriej to the KPK.
Prior to going to the KPK, it was reported that Sugeng and Helmut's lawyer had met the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud Md. in early March 2023 to tell him of Eddy Hieriej's actions.
[This content is provided by Tenggara Strategics in collaboration with The Jakarta Post to serve the latest comprehensive and reliable analysis on Indonesia's political and business landscape.]