Attorney General's Office names 3 suspects in 390-ton rare earth export graft
Investigators suspect ilmenite test results were manipulated so banned rare earth content would be omitted from the lab report.
The Attorney General's Office has named three suspects in a corruption case tied to the mining governance of nonmetallic minerals at PT Putraprima Mineral Mandiri (PMM), which is alleged to have opened the way for the illegal export of about 390 tons of ore containing rare earth metals. The three are Iwan Setiawan from PT PMM, Gian Prabuharto as head of the Pangkalpinang service unit at PT Sucofindo, and Junanto Kurniawan as head of the Pangkalpinang Customs and Excise office. Investigators said Iwan asked that the ilmenite sample not be tested fully so the banned rare earth content would not appear in the laboratory report. That report was then used as the basis for issuing export documents. Junanto is suspected of still issuing the documents even though he knew the shipment contained prohibited minerals. The three were detained for 20 days at the Salemba detention center, a branch of the Attorney General's Office, while the calculation of state losses is still being coordinated with BPKP.