Jakarta. The former CEO of state-owned construction firm Hutama Karya, Bintang Perbowo, was detained on Wednesday as a suspect in a corruption case linked to the Trans-Sumatra toll road project, which allegedly caused Rp 205 billion ($12.5 million) in state losses.

Also detained was Rizal Sutjipto, a former business development division head at Hutama Karya. Both were presented to the media at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters in Jakarta on Wednesday evening.

A third suspect in the case, businessman Iskandar Zulkarnaen, passed away from natural causes during the early stages of the investigation in August last year. As a result, the case against him has been closed.

“KPK has officially placed the two suspects in custody for the next 20 days,” said Asep Guntur Rahayu, the KPK’s Deputy for Law Enforcement. “The investigation against the third suspect, IZ, was dropped following his death.”

The KPK began investigating the case in March 2024 and named the suspects three months later, though the arrests were not made until more than a year after the probe began. Asep did not provide an explanation for the delay.

The corruption allegations stem from the purchase of land in Lampung Province by Hutama Karya -- the lead contractor of the multi-billion-dollar toll road project that spans the island of Sumatra. The land was purchased through Sanitarindo Tangsel Jaya, a company founded by the late Iskandar, to be developed into residential and commercial zones along the toll road.

According to the KPK, Hutama Karya paid Sanitarindo Rp 133.73 billion for land in Bakauheni and Rp 71.41 billion for land in Kalianda, covering a total of around 120 hectares between 2018 and 2020. Both districts are located in South Lampung Regency.

Sanitarindo allegedly used these funds to make partial payments to local farmers -- the rightful landowners -- but the KPK suspects that the transactions were riddled with misappropriation involving executives from both Sanitarindo and Hutama Karya.

Due to the ongoing investigation, the land transactions were halted, leaving many farmers unpaid and unable to access their land, as the ownership documents had been taken by a notary office involved in the deal.

The KPK has since seized the land certificates and is seeking a court order to return them to the original owners without requiring repayment of any partial advances they received.

In December, the KPK officially named Sanitarindo Tangsel Jaya as a corporate suspect, following Iskandar Zulkarnaen’s death.