Indonesian authorities announce two new suspects in illegal tin mining probe

JAKARTA: Indonesia's Attorney General's Office (AGO) on Wednesday (Feb 21) announced two tin company executives were suspects in a probe into illegal tin mining, a senior official said.

The two suspects, executives at PT Refined Bangka Tin (RBT), allegedly facilitated a meeting with officials at state miner PT Timah to accommodate the purchase of ores from illegal mining, the official, Kuntadi, told reporters.

The AGO has previously named several suspects allegedly involved in fictitious transactions taking place between 2015 and 2022, which it said had caused losses to state revenue and environmental damage from illegal mining activities.

Among the suspects were a former chief executive and former finance director at Timah.

They allegedly approved a tin processing deal with fake companies who in turn mined ores illegally from Timah's own concession and sold them to Timah, according to the AGO.

RBT did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment and could not be reached by phone.

Timah said it believes the efforts made by law enforcement officials are "aimed at improving mining governance and the tin commodity business," a company spokeperson said. - Reuters