Jihan Ristiyanti, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch, or ICW, has urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Attorney General's Office to be impartial in enforcing the law against foreign executives of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This comes in response to President Prabowo Subianto's new policy that allows foreign nationals to lead SOEs.
"In the event of alleged corruption involving foreign nationals when they have been appointed as members of the SOEs board of directors, we request that the KPK and the Attorney General's Office enforce the law impartially," said Wana Alamsyah, Head of the Legal and Investigation Division of ICW, on Tuesday, October 21, 2025.
SOEs foreign executives appointment pose several challenges
The appointment of foreign nationals as SOEs executives will pose several challenges, including difficulties in prosecuting foreign corruptors. There is also concern about lack of transparency in appointing the foreign executives of state-owned companies.
According to Alam, prosecuting foreign nationals requires cooperation with other countries, such as the mutual legal assistance (MLA) mechanism. One such case is reciprocal assistance to trace the assets of relevant parties and provide evidence for trials in Indonesia.
"There have been at least two cases involving foreigners, and state-owned enterprises were hampered by the assistance from foreign countries," he said.
The first case concerned the former CEO of Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, Emirsyah Satar, who was found to have received a US$2 million bribe from Rolls-Royce to purchase several aircraft. But the briber, who was a British national, was not further prosecuted because the crime occurred outside Indonesia's jurisdiction.
Another case was committed by the former CEO of Bank Mandiri, Edward Cornelis William Neloe, which resulted in state losses of Rp120 billion. Edward Cornelis William Neloe is suspected of transferring most of his assets to a Swiss bank.
"Indonesia, which at that time did not have an MLA agreement with Switzerland, faced difficulties in obtaining information about the accounts owned by Edward Cornelis William Neloe. As a result, the recovery of state financial losses was not maximized," he said.
According to him, President Prabowo's policy allowing foreigners to lead state corporations must come alongside the review of several regulations, especially for tracing offshore wealth.
Prabowo's ambitious quest
Prabowo previously said he revised the SOEs Law to allow the sovereign wealth fund Danantara to seek the best talents to lead state-owned enterprises, which does not exclude foreign nationals.
Prabowo's ambitious quest was quickly realized at Garuda Indonesia, with two foreign nationals appointed as members of its board of directors. The two individuals are the Director of Finance and Risk Management, Balagopal Kunduvara, and the Director of Transformation, Neil Raymond Nills.
The decision to appoint the two foreign nationals as board members of Garuda Indonesia was made during the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (RUPSLB) on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General's Office said law enforcement can be imposed against foreign executives of state-owned companies.
"We adhere to positive law, yes. As long as it the crime is conducted within Indonesia's jurisdiction, our law applies. Meaning, anyone can be prosecuted," said Anang Supriatna, Head of the Legal Information Center of the Attorney General's Office, on Friday, October 17, 2025.