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Showing posts from February, 2026

Basuki Hariman's business comeback: From corruption conviction to a major garlic importer

Meet Basuki Hariman: priest, corruption convict, meat import businessman, and since recently also one of Indonesia’s largest garlic importers. He is part of a small circle of men who, a close reading of import trade data suggests, have captured much of Indonesia’s roughly USD 650m-a-year garlic import trade. Basuki with KPK vest In early 2017 he and a close associate, Ng Fenny, were arrested by Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commissions, the Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK), for bribing an Indonesian Constitutional Court justice, Patrialis Akbar, to influence a judicial review. Basuki’s business involved importing beef from countries like Australia and the USA. The enactment of the 2014 law allowed the government to import buffalo meat from India, which led to lower market prices and decreased demand for his company’s imported beef. ( By winning the judicial review, he hoped to stop or limit these buffalo meat imports to protect his business interests. (74/PID.SUS/TPK/2017/PN.Jk...

Stock Market Crash in January 2026

  The Indonesian stock market suffered a sharp crash on  29 January 2026 , marking one of the steepest sell-offs in recent years as the Jakarta Composite Index (IHSG) plunged amid mounting investor concerns. The sell-off was triggered by warnings from global index provider MSCI about transparency and “investability issues” in the Indonesian market (due to low free-float requirements and lack of transparancy), sparking heavy capital outflows and widespread panic selling among both foreign and domestic investors.