Indonesia’s Corruption Court on Thursday handed down prison sentences ranging from two to five years to former executives of MDI Ventures and BRI Ventures in the corruption case linked to investments in agritech startup TaniHub Group.
The panel of judges found former MDI Ventures chief executive officer Donald Surjana Wihardja and former MDI Ventures investment executive Aldi Adrian Hartanto guilty under the primary corruption charge and sentenced them to five years and two years in prison, respectively.
Wihardja was fined 750 million rupiah ($42,150), with a subsidiary sentence of 165 days’ imprisonment, while Hartanto was fined 250 million rupiah ($14,050), with a subsidiary sentence of 90 days.
In separate rulings delivered on the same day, the court sentenced former BRI Ventures chief executive officer Nicko Widjaja to three years in prison and former BRI Ventures investment executive William Gozali to two years in prison.
Nicko was fined 350 million rupiah, or a subsidiary sentence of 110 days’ imprisonment, while William was fined 250 million rupiah, or a subsidiary sentence of 90 days.
The sentences were substantially lower than the penalties sought by prosecutors, who had demanded 12 years’ imprisonment and a 1 billion rupiah fine each for Wihardja and Hartanto, 11 years and a 1 billion rupiah fine for Widjaja, and nine years and a 1 billion rupiah fine for Gozali.
Following the ruling, Wihardja and Hartanto said they were still considering whether to appeal. Widjaja also said he was weighing his legal options, while Gozali plans to appeal the verdict.
The case stems from a $25 million joint investment by MDI Ventures and BRI Ventures into TaniHub and related entities in 2019. Prosecutors alleged that irregularities in the investment approval process and the subsequent use of funds resulted in state losses.
The court also delivered verdicts against president director Ivan Arie Sustiawan and former TaniHub director Edison Tobing. Details of those verdicts were not immediately available. This story will be updated.
