Indonesia names two tax officers suspects in $112 million pulp under-invoicing case

Indonesia's Attorney General's Office (AGO) has named two tax officers as suspects in an alleged bribery scheme involving a listed pulp producer, resulting in state losses estimated at 2 trillion rupiah (approximately $112 million).

The case centers on Toba Pulp Lestari, a company in the pulp processing and forestry sector. According to Saiful Bahri Siregar, director of investigations at the AGO's special crimes unit, the company allegedly exported pulp products to its affiliate from 2008 using a harmonised system code with a lower value. This misclassification, he said, "resulted in a reduction in the corporate tax revenue that the state should have received."

The two suspects, identified only by the initials BP and SR, served as tax audit supervisors for the company between 2020 and 2024. Siregar said the suspects "acting unlawfully, failed to carry out their duties and functions as supervisors" and received money from the company.

The alleged under-invoicing took place between 2008 and 2025. The prosecutors have not named the company itself as a suspect. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The suspects are accused of violating an anti-corruption clause in Indonesia's criminal code, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The initial estimate of state losses stands at 2 trillion rupiah.