Inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. The Ministry of Environment has officially transferred the criminal investigation of 28 companies to the Indonesian National Police (INP) Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim). 

This legal action came after President Prabowo Subianto’s decisive move to revoke the environmental permits of these firms, which have been identified as primary contributors to recent devastating floods across Sumatra.

"The Criminal Investigation Agency will spearhead the criminal enforcement, while our ministry handles non-criminal sanctions under the Forest Area Control Task Force," said Rizal Rawan, the Deputy for Environmental Law Enforcement, on Wednesday (21/1/2026).

The crackdown targets 22 forestry permit holders and six mining and plantation firms covering over one million hectares in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. Investigations by experts from BRIN and IPB University confirmed significant ecological damage caused by illegal forest land use. 

While administrative revocations have forced an immediate halt to operations, the government is simultaneously pursuing civil lawsuits and criminal charges to ensure full accountability for the regional environmental disasters.

(mg/inp/pr/rs)