Indonesia's Attorney General's Office has widened its corruption investigation into the free nutritious meal scheme by arresting a fifth suspect, signalling an intensifying crackdown on alleged misconduct surrounding the multitrillion-rupiah initiative.
On Friday, June 12, AGO investigators apprehended Andri Mulyono, a commissioner at logistics firm PT Yasa Artha Trimanunggal, following interrogation regarding suspected fraud in the flagship programme. Andri is accused of inflating costs for roughly 21,000 electric motorcycles intended for meal preparation kitchens across the country, driving expenditure to Rp 1.03 trillion (US$58.2 million) within the National Nutrition Agency's procurement allocation. According to Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, investigation director at the Office of Assistant Attorney General for Special Crimes, the suspect orchestrated unlawful financial gains through the manipulated purchasing process.
The motorcycle procurement had already sparked public controversy in April over concerns about its relevance to the programme's core objectives. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa subsequently announced that no additional electric motorcycle contracts would be authorised in 2026, attributing the earlier approval to administrative miscommunication within his department.
Investigators also apprehended businessman Asep Yusuf Somantri last week as a co-conspirator in the scheme. Officials contend that Asep exploited connections with former National Nutrition Agency deputy director Sony Sonjaya to interfere with the vetting procedure for prospective programme partners, enabling him to manipulate kitchen registration processes and approve applications beyond the formal deadline. The initial three arrests—former agency head Dadan Hindayana and deputies Sony Sonjaya and Lodewyk Pusung—occurred on June 3, shortly after President Prabowo Subianto dismissed them from their roles.
Authorities are currently reviewing Sony's petition to become a justice collaborator, which would require him to disclose involvement of over 20 additional individuals implicated in the conspiracy. The national school feeding initiative, which aims to serve more than 80 million pupils and expectant mothers, has been overshadowed by multiple crises: operational fraud allegations and at least 33,000 documented mass food-poisoning incidents since its February 2025 launch.
Public discontent escalated during a student-led demonstration on Friday branded #MenujuIndonesiaBangkrut (Indonesia heading for bankruptcy), demanding programme suspension and criticising the government's resource allocation amid currency weakness. However, Government Communications Agency head Muhammad Qodari reaffirmed the administration's commitment to the scheme, characterising temporary operational difficulties as inevitable components of any large-scale initiative and stressing its importance for reducing childhood malnutrition.
