Indonesia’s Law Enforcers Turn on One Another
A three-way battle emerges between the police, military and Attorney General’s Office
By: Ainur Rohmah
What began as an investigation into a series of nationwide power outages has rapidly evolved into a rare confrontation between Indonesia’s two most powerful law enforcement institutions. Indonesia’s National Police, through its Anti-Corruption Task Force (Kortastipidkor), is investigating alleged corruption and money laundering in coal procurement for state-owned power plants between 2018 and 2026. Investigators suspect manipulated contracts, falsified coal quality and supply records, and illicit financial flows that may have caused state losses of roughly US$300 million.
As the investigation has expanded, police have searched more than a dozen locations in Jakarta and nearby cities last week. Several of the properties were linked to Febrie Adriansyah, the former head of the Special Crimes Unit (Jampidsus) of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), transforming what appeared to be a procurement case into a much broader inquiry into the relationships among Indonesia’s law enforcement elite.
A Prosecutor under Investigation
Police have named Febrie a suspect in corruption and money laundering investigations tied to three separate cases: a scandal involving state-owned insurance company PT Asabri, alleged corruption involving state-owned PT Krakatau Steel, and the coal procurement case. Don Ritto, a lawyer described by investigators as one of Febrie’s close associates, was also named as a suspect. Investigators allege that Febrie accepted illicit payments through the extortion of suspects in those major corruption cases. He has since resigned from the Attorney General’s Office.
The allegations mark a dramatic fall for one of Indonesia’s best-known anti-corruption prosecutors. Since taking charge of the Special Crimes Unit in January 2022, Febrie led investigations into some of the country’s largest corruption scandals, including the tin trading case, the crude oil governance scandal, and the controversial and politically charged Chromebook procurement case involving former Education Minister Nadiem Makarim. Most recently, his office was handling corruption cases involving the government’s massive Free Nutritious Meals program.
Police searched 13 locations linked to Febrie, including his residence in suburban Jakarta, and several businesses in Jakarta. Officers seized 74 kilograms of gold, hundreds of billions of rupiah in cash, and other evidence. They also searched Koin Money Changer, where they confiscated cash in 16 foreign currencies worth about 7.2 billion rupiah. “There are strong indications the location was used for money laundering,” said Senior Commissioner Budi Hermanto, the Jakarta Metropolitan Police spokesman.
Soon after videos of the raids circulated online, prosecutors – accompanied by dozens of armed military soldiers – arrived at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police headquarters demanding the return of the seized evidence. At the same time, Indonesian military personnel guarded Febrie’s residence in South Jakarta. Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Muhammad Nas said the deployment was carried out at the request of the Attorney General’s Office. What appeared to be a stand-off between the police and military was alarming – and huge news nationwide.
According to Inspector General Totok Suharyanto, head of the National Police’s Anti-Corruption Task Force, investigators are focusing on three cases. The first concerns alleged corruption in coal procurement that investigators believe contributed to electricity shortages and widespread blackouts. The second revisits alleged corruption and money laundering connected to PT Asabri and another state-owned insurer, Jiwasraya. The third involves the settlement of debts between two subsidiaries of Krakatau Steel.
Although the investigations concern separate legal matters, police have linked them in pursuing Febrie, leaving unresolved questions about the precise role prosecutors believe he played in each case, which has since been handed over to the attorney general’s office, prompting concerns that the institution is being asked to investigate one of its own and will potentially shield senior officials from independent scrutiny.
The Curse of the Free Meals Program
The bitter feud between Indonesia’s police and prosecutors didn’t begin with the coal investigation. Its roots lie in a far more politically sensitive case: alleged corruption in President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program.
Far from becoming the signature social program Prabowo envisioned, the free lunch initiative has increasingly become synonymous with allegations of corruption. What was designed as a nationwide effort to improve child nutrition and ease widespread stunting has instead exposed weaknesses in governance as the program expanded at remarkable speed.
Since mid-June 2026, the attorney general’s office has instructed prosecutors nationwide to investigate suspected corruption in the program’s rapidly expanding network of community kitchens. Prosecutors have examined allegations ranging from the sale of operating permits and kitchen locations to inflated procurement costs, illegal commissions and the misuse of government incentives.
The investigation soon reached senior officials with close ties to the police. Among those arrested was Sony Sonjaya, the deputy head of the National Nutrition Agency and a retired police inspector general. Investigators allege that Sony implicated other police officers involved in the program, including Brig. Gen. Lalu Muhammad Iwan Mahardan, an active-duty officer who was later named as a suspect.
Police officials were outraged, arguing that prosecutors had designated Lalu a suspect without coordinating with the force. They also accused the attorney general’s office of selective prosecution, saying it targeted kitchens operated by the police while leaving untouched hundreds of facilities affiliated with the Indonesian military. More than 1,000 MBG kitchens are currently managed by the national police.
The police response was swift. Soon afterward, investigators unveiled corruption and extortion allegations involving one of the Attorney General’s Office’s most influential figures, former Special Crimes chief Febrie.
Exposing Each Other’s Secrets
Indonesia has witnessed recurring rivalries among its law enforcement institutions since the police were separated from the military in 1998. Previous clashes – including the long-running conflict between the police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), as well as periodic tensions between the police and the armed forces – have repeatedly tested the country’s justice system. This time, however, the rivalry has escalated into competing corruption investigations, with each institution exposing alleged wrongdoing by the other.
The military’s involvement reflects the political alliances surrounding both institutions. Febrie serves as executive chairman of the government’s Forest Area Enforcement Task Force, which is led by Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, a retired army general with considerable influence within the armed forces.
Legal scholars argue that the escalating conflict underscores the need for an independent referee. They say Prabowo could ease the institutional deadlock by transferring both the MBG investigation and the allegations against prosecutors to the KPK. Although many KPK investigators come from the police and the prosecution service, the agency operates independently of the institutions now locked in conflict.
Without an impartial investigation, they argue, the greatest casualty will not be either institution but public confidence in the rule of law.
Calls for Anti-Graft Agency Intervention
Hendardi, chairman of the National Council of the influential SETARA Institute, said the KPK should immediately exercise its statutory supervisory powers to take over – or at least oversee – the investigations. Allowing the attorney general’s office to investigate allegations involving its leadership, he argued, “simply makes no sense. The Attorney General’s Office would effectively be investigating itself.”
Hendardi also criticized the police’s willingness to hand the case to prosecutors, saying the move deepened public distrust and fueled suspicions of a political bargain between the two institutions. If the decision resulted from political pressure by the executive branch, he said, it would blur the boundary between law enforcement and political interests.
“The more political actors intervene in an ongoing legal process, the greater the risk that justice will be sacrificed for political expediency,” he said.
Hendardi warned that appeals to national stability must never become a justification for shielding corruption or manipulating legal proceedings. Stability built on impunity, he argued, ultimately weakens the legitimacy of the state. He also questioned the military’s involvement in a civilian law enforcement process, saying such intervention had no legal basis.
Finally, he said that investigators should not stop with Febrie alone. They should follow the chain of command, trace financial transactions and identify all beneficiaries of the alleged corruption, including, if supported by evidence, other senior officials within the Attorney General’s Office, or even the government’s Forest Area Enforcement Task Force.
“Corruption at this level is rarely the work of a single individual,” Hendardi said. “If the investigation ends with one suspect while protecting those above him, it will amount to sacrificing one person to preserve a corrupt system.”
Great investigative journalism, terrific piece!