THE number of irregularities in the auction of shares in Gunung Bara Utama indicates something was amiss in the efforts by the Asset Recovery Center of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to recover the funds lost to the state. There are very strong indications that the winner of the auction was arranged in advance.

The irregularities in the auction of goods seized in relation to the Asuransi Jiwasraya corruption case that saw the conviction of Heru Hidayat culminated in the winner of the auction. The company that won the auction, Indobara Utama Mandiri, was established on December 9, 2022, only 12 days before the auction was held. It is strongly suspected corruption convict Andrew Hidayat formed this company in order to win the auction of 25.19 percent of shares in Gunung Bara Utama. There are indications that the members of the board of directors and commissioners of Indobara Utama Mandiri were nominated or proposed by Andrew.

The naming of Indobara Utama Mandiri as the winner of the auction shows the poor management of the AGO’s Asset Recovery Center. A newly established company without any financial reports should have not been able to win the auction. It is right to question its credibility because it does not have any financial reports that have been audited by a public accounting firm.

Moreover, it is also only fair to question the criteria used by the AGO to allow the auction to be won by a company only established 12 days before it was held. Indobara Utama Mandiri was only able to pay for the Gunung Bara Utama shares after securing a Rp2.4 trillion loan from Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI). If it had not been able to obtain this loan, how would it have found the funds?

Another problem is apparent from the fact auction announcement was published only once in two newspapers, despite Finance Ministry Regulation No. 213/PMK.06/2020 stating that auctions must be announced twice.

The auction of goods seized in a corruption case is aimed at recovering losses to the state. The AGO received Rp1.94 trillion from the auction of assets belonging to Gunung Baru Utama. This is much less than the fine imposed on Heru Hidayat, who was ordered to repay the Rp10.72 trillion that the state lost.

If the auction had been carried out in accordance with best practices, the state would have received far more. As a result of the problematic auction by the AGO’s Asset Recovery Center, the aim of recovering assets from the massive Jiwasraya corruption case was not achieved. The Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society believes that collusion over the auction of these seized assets cost the state Rp9.7 trillion.

Strangely, Indobara Utama Mandiri continued to benefit financially after it won the auction as it received various discounts. The AGO used some of the proceeds of the auction to repay Gunung Bara Utama’s debts. But these debts should have been taken over by Indobara Mandiri Utama, the new owner of the company, not paid off by the AGO.

The alleged collusion in the auction of Gunung Bara Utama shares should be investigated immediately because there are clear indications of a criminal conspiracy.