The Indonesian Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) has named five suspects in a corruption investigation involving the management of the Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) program for the 2025-2026 period. According to the Director of Investigation at the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, the case involves alleged systemic irregularities, including the use of affiliated foundations to manage nutrition service units and the artificial inflation of procurement costs for equipment like electric motorcycles.
Who are the suspects in the MBG corruption case?
The Attorney General’s Office has identified five individuals connected to the alleged mismanagement within the National Nutrition Agency (BGN). The suspects include former high-ranking BGN officials, a private sector associate, and a vendor representative. The list provided by Kejagung includes: 1) former BGN Head Dadan Hindayana, 2) former Deputy Head Sony Sonjaya, 3) former Deputy Head Lodewyk Pusung, 4) Asep Yusuf Somantri, and 5) Andri Mulyono, a commissioner at PT Yasa Artha Trimanunggal (PT YAT).
How did the alleged irregularities occur?
Investigators allege that the MBG program was compromised through the manipulation of the Satuan Pelayanan Pemenuhan Gizi (SPPG) verification process. Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi stated that while the program was intended to be managed by school-based foundations, many of the selected partners were instead private entities affiliated with Dadan, Sony, and Lodewyk. These affiliated foundations reportedly received billions of rupiah in daily incentives. Furthermore, investigators identified a pattern of price-fixing in procurement contracts, where officials allegedly bypassed real-world needs to inflate the costs of electric motorcycles, shoes, tablets, and 75-inch televisions.
Did You Know? The procurement of 21,801 electric motorcycles, which is currently under scrutiny for alleged markups, carries a total contract value of approximately Rp 1 trillion.
What is the role of the private sector in this investigation?
The investigation highlights the involvement of private parties in bypassing standard regulatory procedures. Asep Yusuf Somantri is accused of acting as a facilitator for Sony Sonjaya, allegedly using his access to the BGN portal to interfere with the verification of prospective SPPG partners and reinstate entities that had been previously rejected. Additionally, Andri Mulyono of PT YAT is accused of inflating the price of electric motorcycles to align with the agency’s budget ceiling. According to Kejagung, PT YAT lacked the necessary infrastructure, such as active dealerships or service centers, to qualify as a legitimate vendor for the program.
Expert Insight: The scale of this investigation, which touches upon both high-level leadership and vendor-level procurement, suggests a deep-seated failure in oversight mechanisms within the National Nutrition Agency. By allowing internal officials to influence the “Harga Perkiraan Sendiri” (HPS) or the estimated price of goods, the suspects effectively bypassed competitive bidding protections, turning a public welfare program into a vehicle for financial gain.
What happens next in the legal proceedings?
As of June 2026, the Attorney General’s Office has moved to detain the suspects to facilitate the ongoing investigation. Asep Yusuf Somantri is currently held at the Rutan Salemba Branch of the South Jakarta District Attorney’s Office for a 20-day period. Investigators are now in the process of calculating the exact total of the state losses, particularly regarding the price markups for the electric motorcycles and other equipment. Future legal steps will likely involve reconciling the inflated contract values with market rates to finalize the total financial damage to the state.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary allegation against the former BGN leadership?
The former BGN leadership is accused of abusing their authority to ensure that nutrition program funds were directed toward foundations they were personally affiliated with, while also interfering in the procurement of goods to inflate prices.
Why is the procurement of electric motorcycles being investigated?
Kejagung is investigating the purchase of 21,801 electric motorcycles due to evidence of price markups and the selection of a vendor, PT YAT, that allegedly did not meet the required operational standards, such as having active dealerships.
What evidence does Kejagung have regarding the foundation affiliations?
According to Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, investigators found that the suspects intervened in the BGN partner portal to prioritize specific foundations, ensuring they were selected as SPPG partners despite not meeting the necessary requirements.
How will these findings impact the future delivery of the Makan Bergizi Gratis program for the schools involved?
