State-owned mining company PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) says it respects the ongoing legal process against an alleged corruption case involving the illegal management of 109 tons of Antam gold between 2010 and 2022.
The statement was issued following the identification of seven new suspects by the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) of the Attorney General’s Office.
Corporate Secretary of Antam, Syarif Faisal Alkadrie, said the company is committed to cooperating with relevant authorities as required.
“As a public company and part of the state-owned mining industry holding, Antam is bound by various regulations and is routinely supervised by authorized government agencies. We ensure that our precious metal business and overall operations continue to run normally, adhering to good governance practices,” Syarif said in a disclosure to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) as quoted on Tuesday, Juli 23, 2024.
Amid the ongoing legal issues, Antam’s stock performance has been affected. Its shares fell by 1.12 percent to Rp1,325 per share during Tuesday’s trading session at 13:31 WIB.
The trading volume was recorded at 20.72 million with a transaction value of Rp27.54 billion (US$1.7 million) and a market capitalization of Rp31.84 trillion. Over the past week, Antam shares have declined by 1.12 percent, and over the past three months, the stock has dropped by 20.18 percent.
Previously, Spokesman of the Attorney General’s Office, Harli Siregar, said that the seven suspects are customers of the Precious Metal Processing & Refining Business Unit’s (UBPP LM) manufacturing services.
They are accused of conspiring with the General Managers of UBPP LM, who were previously named suspects, to misuse manufacturing services.
The suspects, identified by their initials LE, SL, SJ, JT, GAR, DT (Director of PT JTU), and HKT, allegedly used manufacturing services not only for refining, smelting, and casting activities but also unlawfully attached Antam’s precious metal brand without prior cooperation or payment to Antam, thus increasing the market value of the precious metals.
Earlier, the Attorney General’s Office had named six other suspects in the case, including TK, General Manager of UBPP LM PT Antam from 2010-2011; HN, General Manager from 2011-2013; DM, General Manager from 2013-2017; AH, General Manager from 2017-2019; MAA, General Manager from 2019-2021; and ID, General Manager from 2021-2022.
These individuals are suspected of abusing their authority by conducting illegal activities related to manufacturing services, specifically in refining, smelting, and casting precious metals.
The actions of these suspects reportedly led to the unauthorized branding of precious metals with Antam’s logo. Consequently, 109 tons of gold were illegally branded and circulated in the market alongside officially produced Antam gold, resulting in significant legal and market implications for the company.