JAKARTA — Indonesian prosecutors have launched an investigation into the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, as there are indications of corruption related to the palm oil industry. The attorney general’s office said the case relates to the management of oil palm plantations within forest areas from 2005-24. The suspected corruption case has resulted in loss to the state’s economy, the office’s spokesman, Harli Siregar, said. As part of the investigation, the office carried out search and seizure at the environment ministry’s building in Jakarta on Oct. 3, 2024. During the operation, investigators searched five rooms at the ministry and confiscated four boxes of documents. They also seized electronic evidence related to the rezoning of forest areas, which falls under the authority of the environment ministry. Harli said the office is analyzing all these documents and summoning the ministry officials for questioning. Based on this, experts suspect the investigation targets a government program aimed at legalizing illegal oil palm plantations within forest areas. More specifically, the investigation might focus on the potential underpayment of fines by companies that operate illegal plantations, the experts added. There are a combined 3.37 million hectares (8.33 million acres) of oil palm plantations considered illegal under Indonesian law because they were established on land zoned as forest areas. That’s an area larger than Belgium, accounting for a significant portion of the palm oil output in Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of the commodity. To address this issue, the government introduced the amnesty scheme through the so-called omnibus law…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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