Sunindyo Suryo Herdadi, former Director of Engineering and Environment at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) and Chief Mining Inspector from April 2022 to July 2024, has been named a suspect in a major coal mining corruption case.
The Bengkulu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office announced the decision after Sunindyo was questioned by prosecutors at the Attorney General’s Offic (AGO) in South Jakarta on Thursday, July 31, 2025.
“Investigators have named him a suspect based on the available evidence,” AGO Spokesman, Anang Suprianta, told the media on Thursday.
Sunindyo allegedly abused his authority during his tenure at ESDM to evaluate and approve the 2023 Budget Work Plan (RKAB) submitted by PT Ratu Samban Mining (RSM), linked to mining license No. 348 − a necessary document for production activities.
Although RSM secured RKAB approval from the ESDM ministry, the accompanying reclamation plan had not been cleared, and the company proceeded with coal production from 2022 to 2023 without placing the mandatory reclamation guarantee in a bank, as required by law.
Sunindyo’s actions are considered of violating Article 2(1) in conjunction with Article 18(2) and (3) of Law No. 31/1999 on the Eradication of Corruption, as amended by Law No. 20/2001.
Sunindyo is now detained at the Salemba prison for a 20-day period pending further investigation.
His arrest brings the total number of suspects in the case to nine, with the previous eight who are executives and associates from companies PT Inti Bara Perdana, PT Tunas Bara Jaya, and PT Ratu Samban Mining:
● Bebby Hussy – Commissioner, PT Inti Bara Perdana;
● Sakya Hussy – General Manager, PT Inti Bara Perdana;
● Julius Soh – Director, PT Tunas Bara Jaya;
● Agusman – Marketing, PT Inti Bara Perdana;
● Sutarman – Director, PT Inti Bara Perdana;
● Edhie Santosa Rahadja – Director, PT Ratu Samban Mining;
● Iman Sumantri – Branch Head, PT Sucofindo Bengkulu;
● David Alexander Yuwono – Commissioner, PT Ratu Samban Mining;
The state is estimated to have suffered losses of up to Rp500 billion (US$31 million) due to this case.
Authorities believe the suspects illegally exploited forest areas and conducted unauthorized coal sales. Investigations have revealed long-standing issues with RSM’s mining license dating back to 2011, with unlawful coal transactions reportedly occurring between 2021 and 2022.
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