By Stefanno Sulaiman
PANGKALPINANG, Indonesia (Reuters) -Indonesia’s attorney general on Monday handed over assets including smelters and heavy equipment seized in a corruption case to state tin miner PT Timah, as President Prabowo Subianto urged authorities to stop illegal mining and smuggling of tin.
The resource-rich country is ramping up efforts to improve governance of natural resources exploitation, with measures including a clampdown on illegal mining.
Prabowo visited tin hub Bangka Island to witness the transfer of assets that were confiscated after a number of tin executives were convicted for colluding to conduct illegal mining.
The attorney general said their actions had led to about 300 trillion rupiah ($18.09 billion) in state losses, including environmental damage.
The visit came after Prabowo said he had ordered the closure of about 1,000 illegal tin mines on the islands and would intensify a crackdown on tin smugglers, sending tin prices last week to a near six-month high.
On Monday, Prabowo urged the military, customs office, the coast guard and related authorities to continue their efforts to stop illegal activities.
“We are determined to eradicate smuggling, eradicate illegal mining, eradicate all those who violate the law, we will enforce it,” Prabowo told reporters after the handover.
The assets transferred to state tin miner Timah included six smelters, about 680 metric tons of refined tin and 108 units of heavy equipment, data from the attorney general’s office showed.
The assets could generate 4.6 trillion rupiah of annual revenue when operated, the data showed.
Some of the assets were on display at the handover, including stacks of the tin ingots and dozens of excavators.
($1 = 16,580.0000 rupiah)
(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman in Pangkalpinang, Indonesia; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Martin Petty and Jamie Freed)
