Prosecutors at the Central Jakarta Corruption Court on May 21 sought nine to 12 years in prison for four former executives of MDI Ventures and BRI Ventures.

The case centers on alleged corruption and money laundering tied to a US$25 million investment in agritech startup TaniHub Group from 2019 to 2023.

MDI Ventures is a Jakarta-based venture capital firm backed by Telkom Indonesia, while BRI Ventures is the venture capital arm of Bank Rakyat Indonesia.

Former MDI Ventures CEO Donald Wihardja and former vice president of investment Aldi Adrian Hartanto each faced 12 years in prison and 1 billion rupiah (US$57,000) fines.

Former BRI Ventures CEO Nicko Widjaja faced 11 years, while former vice president of investment William Gozali faced nine years. Both also faced 1 billion rupiah (US$57,000) fines.

Prosecutors said the two firms’ 2019 joint investment in TaniHub and affiliated entities lacked a proper legal basis.

They also alleged that some of the money was used outside the approved investment plan, that part of it was diverted for personal use, and that information presented during the investment process did not accurately reflect TaniHub’s financial condition.

Nicko and lawyers for the former MDI Ventures executives denied wrongdoing.

TaniHub shut warehouses and laid off staff in 2022, while affiliate lender TaniFund lost its license on May 3, 2024, after failing to meet minimum equity requirements and implement supervisory recommendations.

🔗 Source: Kompas.id

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