The $718 Million Reclamation: Indonesia’s Attorney General Crushes ‘Forest Mafia’

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — The Indonesian state is striking back against the "mafia" syndicates that have long exploited the nation’s vast tropical forests. In a high-profile ceremony on Friday, April 10, 2026, Attorney General ST Burhanuddin handed over Rp 11.42 trillion ($718 million) in recovered funds to Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, marking one of the largest single asset-recovery milestones in the nation’s history.

The "forceful collection" of these funds is the result of aggressive legal maneuvers by the Task Force on Forestry and Mining Governance (Satgas PKH). President Prabowo Subianto personally witnessed the transfer at the Attorney General’s Office, signaling that the era of impunity for illegal land use is over.

For global ESG investors and environmental watchdogs, this crackdown is a seismic shift in how Indonesia manages its natural resources. By reclaiming 14.5 million acres of land—an area larger than the country of Denmark—the government is attempting to restore the rule of law in the palm oil and mining sectors. This move not only bolsters the national treasury but also provides a clearer regulatory landscape for legitimate investors while moving millions of acres toward conservation or state-managed sustainability projects.

Crushing the Syndicates

The recovered Rp 11.42 trillion ($718 million) is a composite of administrative fines, tax arrears, and criminal asset seizures. The bulk of the recovery, approximately Rp 7.23 trillion ($454 million), came directly from forestry fines. Other significant portions included Rp 1.96 trillion ($123 million) from corruption cases and over Rp 1 trillion ($62 million) in environmental damage penalties.

"The law must stand tall. The state must not lose to a mafia that is thirsty to suck Indonesia's forest wealth to enrich themselves," ST Burhanuddin told the President during the Friday briefing. He emphasized that strong, intelligent, and targeted law enforcement is the only way to restore state losses.

Massive Land Reclamation

Beyond the cash, the scale of land recovery is unprecedented. The Satgas PKH task force has now seized back control of 5.8 million hectares (14.3 million acres) of illegal palm oil plantations and over 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of illicit mining sites.

In this latest phase, 254,780 hectares (629,000 acres) were surrendered to the Ministry of Forestry for conservation, spanning strategic regions from West Kalimantan to the slopes of Mount Salak in Bogor. Meanwhile, another 30,543 hectares (75,000 acres) were transferred to BPI Danantara—Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth fund—to be managed by the state entity Agrinas Palma Nusantara as a strategic national asset.

End of the ‘Imperialist’ Era

Invoking the nationalist rhetoric of Indonesia’s founding father, Sukarno, the Attorney General warned that Indonesia would no longer be a "paradise" for modern-day imperialists who strip raw materials while leaving the environmental bill to the public.

"We ensure that the forest as a gift from God must be managed and preserved for the benefit of the people," Burhanuddin added. To date, the total value of assets and finances rescued by the task force has hit a gargantuan Rp 371.1 trillion ($23.3 billion), highlighting the sheer scale of the historical mismanagement the Prabowo administration is now dismantling.