Jakarta. Indonesian prosecutors have detained former Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Secretary-General Mochamad Teguh Pamudji in a corruption investigation involving alleged illegal nickel exports that caused an estimated Rp 401.65 billion ($22.3 million) in state losses.

Attorney General's Office spokesman Anang Supriatna said Monday that Teguh was apprehended in Purbalingga, Central Java, on Saturday after failing to appear for questioning a day earlier.

Teguh, who served as the ministry's secretary-general from 2013 to 2017, had previously been named a suspect in the investigation into alleged corruption in the management and export of nickel commodities between 2017 and 2020.

He is the fourth individual suspect in the case. Mining company Ceria Nugraha Indotama (CNI) has also been named a corporate suspect, bringing the total number of suspects to five.

The other individual suspects are Bambang Susigit, a former director for mineral business development at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry; an individual identified by the initials NRH, a former head of state inspection company Sucofindo's Kendari unit; and Muhammad Hasbullah Idris, a former head of the minerals and coal division at the Southeast Sulawesi Energy and Mineral Resources Agency.

Prosecutors allege that irregularities occurred in CNI's nickel mining and export operations in Southeast Sulawesi between 2017 and 2020.

According to investigators, the company allegedly obtained export recommendations despite initially lacking an approved work plan and budget, known as an RKAB, and used improperly issued documents related to the quality of its nickel ore.

Prosecutors allege that officials from several government institutions facilitated the issuance of documents required for the exports. 

Investigators say the alleged scheme resulted in Rp 401.65 billion in state losses, based on an audit by the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP).

CNI previously handed Rp 401.65 billion to investigators in connection with the case. The Attorney General's Office has said the return of the money does not halt the criminal investigation. The funds have been seized and placed in a government account pending the legal process.

Add as a preferred source on Google +