Indonesian police have received complaints against eFishery co-founders Gibran Huzaifah and Chrisna Aditya, even as the aquatech startup internally investigates allegations of financial fraud at the company.
According to information obtained from Brigadier General Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko, Head of the Public Information Bureau at the National Police’s Public Relations Division, multiple reports were filed in February, March, April, and May 2024.
Some of these reports are currently under investigation, while others are in the preliminary inquiry stage.
Authorities have not yet disclosed whether these reports are interconnected or pertain to separate cases, nor have they revealed the identities of the complainants.
“Yes, reports were filed in February, March, April, and May 2024. Some of them are in the investigation and inquiry stages,” Andiko told DealStreetAsia.
These reports have been submitted to various institutions including Polda Metro Jaya, the National Police Headquarters (Mabes Polri), and the Financial Services Authority (OJK).
Furthermore, law enforcement officials confirmed that the next step involves a joint case review between Bareskrim Polri, Polda Metro Jaya, and OJK. This review aims to determine the appropriate legal course of action.
Huzaifah served as the CEO and Aditya was the chief product officer at eFishery before the company’s board suspended them in December last year for alleged financial irregularities.
Preliminary findings from a forensic audit by FTI Consulting on the alleged financial fraud had said that the former management had inflated eFishery’s revenue for the first nine months of 2024 by nearly fivefold and manipulated its bottom line to appear profitable despite posting massive losses.
Another round of layoffs
On Tuesday, eFishery’s shareholders appointed business advisory firm FTI Consulting to take over as the acting management of the aquatech company.
“As an independent third-party manager, our focus is to gain a clear understanding of the company’s true financial and operational position. Based on our findings, we will help determine the most appropriate next steps,” FTI Consulting stated in a press release.
This week, the company officially laid off another 100 employees, following the termination of approximately 300 employees last month. The latest round of job cuts affects permanent employees across all divisions.
According to eFishery’s labour union, the company provided severance pay in accordance with the Indonesian Labor Law (Omnibus Law), offering one month’s salary for each year of service. However, the primary issue revolves around the 14-day termination process, which has sparked controversy.
The union claims that eFishery selectively applied Article 37 of Government Regulation (PP) No. 35/2021 while overlooking Articles 38 and 39.
PP 35/2021, which serves as an implementing regulation of the Job Creation Law (UU Cipta Kerja), outlines the termination process as follows: the company issues a termination notice on Day 1 (Article 37, Paragraph 3); employees are given the opportunity to submit supporting documents on Days 7–8 (Article 39, Paragraph 1); bipartite negotiations between the employer and employees take place on Day 10 (Article 38, Paragraph 2) to seek a resolution; and, if no agreement is reached, termination is officially executed on Day 14.
“This process is designed to ensure that layoffs are conducted fairly and in compliance with regulations,” the union representative told DealStreetAsia.
However, the union alleges that the eFishery management interpreted the 14-day period as a maximum timeline, meaning employees could be dismissed as soon as three days after receiving notice. “According to our labour consultant, this is not allowed,” the union representative explained.
The eFishery Board of Directors has justified the layoffs as part of broader cost-cutting measures.
“In recent weeks, we have made several difficult decisions to align our operational costs with the Group’s actual business scale. These decisions have been made in full compliance with applicable rules and regulations while upholding good corporate governance and maintaining the integrity of the Group,” said the board at the same time as FTI’s official statement released.
