Prosecutor's Office detain Askani, head of the National Land Agency's (BPN) North Sumatra regional office in 2022-2024, and Rahim Lubis, head of the BPN Deli Serdang office in 2023-2025, on Oct. 14, 2025, for their alleged involvement in a corruption case in Medan. - tempo.co via The Jakarta Post/ANN
JAKARTA: The North Sumatra Prosecutor’s Office has seized Rp 150 billion (US$9.03 million), allegedly the proceeds of a graft case involving the sale of land owned by state-owned plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) I.
A subsidary of PTPN I, PT Nusa Dua Properti (NDP), sold 8,077 hectares of land to PT Deli Megapolitan Kawasan Residensial (DMKR) as the developer of the Citraland housing complex from 2022 to 2023.
DMKR is an operational cooperation (KSO) firm between NDP and private developer PT Ciputra Land. Prosecutors seized the money on Tuesday (Oct 21) after having arrested NPD director Iman Surbaki on Monday in relation to reported embezzlement in regard to the land sales.
The money was part of state losses that had been returned to the state coffers. Previously, North Sumatra prosecutors had arrested two suspects from local offices of the National Land Agency (BPN) for transferring 8,077 ha of land owned by PTPN I to private firm Ciputra Land in Deli Serdang regency.
Askani, head of the BPN’s North Sumatra regional office in 2022-2024, and Rahim Lubis, head of BPN’s Deli Serdang office in 2023-2025 were arrested on Oct. 14.
North Sumatra prosecutor Harli Siregar said his investigators had arrested three suspects in the land sales. He added that the investigation process would still be carried out intensively.
Prosecutors would not only uphold the law but also make good state losses, he said. Harli said the money was returned as a goodwill gesture by the alleged perpetrators and as a concrete measure to restore state finances.
However, the legal process would still go on with a balance struck between law enforcement and protecting the public’s rights. “We’ve seized the Rp 150 billion but law enforcement continues,” he said while exhibiting the Rp 150 billion during a press conference at the North Sumatra Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday.
He said the money would then be lodged at the Medan branch of state-owned lender Bank Mandiri. “Returning the money will be regarded as goodwill by the perpetrators,” he said.
He added that the money was seized from DMKR, which was tasked with building and selling the Citraland residential development to the public. Harli said that NDP had proposed a change in land status from right to use (HGU) certificates to right to build (HGB) certificates for 93.8 ha of the total of 8,077 ha.
He said that based on a Presidential Regulation (Perpres), to convert the certificates from HGU to HGB, 20 percent of the converted land must be returned to the state. “So, the state losses in this case are 20 per cent of 93.8 ha, or 18 ha which should be returned to the state,” he said.
“The total state losses is still being calculated.” Meanwhile, Assistant for Special Crimes (Aspidsus) at the North Sumatra Prosecutor’s Office, Mochamad Jeffry, also called on the public, especially those buying houses at Citraland, not to worry, he guaranteed the public’s rights would be protected.
“With the money returned to the state coffers, investigators are calling on home buyers in Citraland to remain calm. We will protect the public’s rights,” he said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
