Lippo Group executive arrested in a corruption case
Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency has arrested nine people, including a top district government official and a company director, Billy Sindoro in a bribery investigation linked to the Lippo Group’s $21 billion Meikarta real estate project near Jakarta.
KPK Chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif shared in media that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested two Lippo Group consultants and an employee involved of trying to pay off city officials to obtain property permits for Meikarta.
Costing $21 billion, Meikarta is Lippo’s largest project to date and is meant to be a center for the automotive and electronics industries, while including five-star hotels, shopping malls, and universities.
Shares in Lippo Group’s Lippo Cikarang, a parent company for Meikarta, dropped almost 15 percent after the news and ended down 13.36 percent on Tuesday.
Through the sting operation conducted by KPK, investigators had seized 513 million rupiah ($33,772) and S$90,000 ($65,378) that had been intended as bribe money.
A lawyer for Meikarta said there was no tolerance for corruption and pledged to collaborate with KPK investigators. Meikarta would also conduct its internal investigation.