Minister Luhut Denies Role in Freeport Shakedown Scandal
Jakarta. Indonesia’s chief security minister has denied being part of an alleged conspiracy by House Speaker Setya Novanto to shake down mining giant Freeport Indonesia in exchange for help in bringing forward its contract extension talks.
Appearing before a House of Representatives’ Ethics Council tribunal probing Setya’s conduct, Luhut Pandjaitan said he had on several occasions advised President Joko Widodo against allowing the contract negotiations to take place before 2019, as the company reportedly sought.
Freeport Indonesia’s current contract expires in 2021, and by law it is only permitted to start negotiating a new contract two years before then.
“Novanto and Riza” oilman Muhammad Riza Chalid – “mentioned my name and made it appear that I could influence the president” to bring forward the contract discussions, Luhut told the House.
“But instead I sent out a memo to the president advising him not to,” he added.
“If [Joko] makes a wrong decision and one that goes against rules and regulations, then politically it will lead to a backlash against the government.”
Setya and Riza are accused of trying to shake down Freeport Indonesia chief executive Maroef Sjamsuddin for a 20 percent stake in the copper and gold miner, valued at an estimated $4 billion.
Maroef secretly recorded the conversation during a meeting in June, but it was only last month that Sudirman Said, the energy minister, submitted a copy of the recording, along with a transcript, to the House Ethics Council when filing a complaint against Setya.
In exchange, the recording indicates, Setya and Riza promised to speed up the miner’s contract extension negotiations with the government before the 2019 start date, suggesting that Luhut was the linchpin.
Luhut’s name comes up no fewer than 60 times in the recording, including a mention of him meeting with James R. Moffett, the founder and chairman of Arizona-based Freeport-McMoRan, Freeport Indonesia’s parent company.
While denying any link to the scandal, Luhut has made no secret of his displeasure at Sudirman for going public with the recording.
Tags: Keywords: