A former CEO of Indonesian state-owned ferry operator PT ASDP, Ira Puspadewi, has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison following a conviction for corruption related to a 2019-2022 acquisition deal.The case, involving the purchase of shares in PT Jembatan Nusantara, highlights ongoing efforts by the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to address fraud within state enterprises. Court documents revealed purposeful manipulation of company decisions and ship age data contributed to significant financial losses for PT ASDP.
Jakarta –
A former CEO of PT ASDP, Ira Puspadewi, has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for her role in the acquisition of PT Jembatan Nusantara by PT ASDP, a case that has drawn significant public attention. The Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) affirmed Monday that the investigation was based on sufficient evidence.
“This wasn’t a case we sought out; it originated from an audit by the BPKP,” said Asep Guntur Rahayu, Acting Deputy for Prosecution and Execution at the KPK, at the KPK building in South Jakarta on November 24, 2025. “The audit results indicated a potential for fraud and criminal activity.”
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The KPK detailed several violations committed by those convicted in the case, beginning with a unilateral decision made by the company’s directors regarding the ship acquisition.
According to Rahayu, the convicted individuals were responsible for changes to PT ASDP’s internal regulations. These alterations created loopholes in the requirements for business cooperation agreements (KSU) leading up to the KSU between PT ASDP and PT JN.
“On March 6, 2019, an amendment was approved, changing Director’s Decision Number 35 to Director’s Decision Number 86,” Rahayu explained. “The existing Director’s Decision Number 35 was altered to become Number 86.”
“The change from Director’s Decision Number 35 to Number 86 aimed to facilitate the KSU between PT ASDP and PT JN by adding exceptions to the requirements,” he continued.
Rahayu stated that on October 11, 2019, Ira Puspadewi, then CEO of PT ASDP, approved Director’s Decision Number 237/KH.002/ASDP.2019, which superseded Director’s Decision Number 86.
This decision eliminated the exceptions to the requirements for business cooperation outlined in several articles of the Number 86 cooperation guidelines. Rahayu explained that Director’s Decision Number 237 included the original provisions of Number 35, along with additional articles that the KPK deemed questionable.
“It’s clear there were deliberate changes made to the director’s decisions. From Number 35, it was changed to Number 86 in March, and remained in effect until October 2019, before being changed again with Decision Number 237,” Rahayu said.
The KPK also highlighted concerns about the age of the ships acquired by PT ASDP, revealing evidence of manipulated age data. The case underscores the potential for corruption in state-owned enterprises.
“Some of the ships used for crossings were built in 1959, over 60 years old. That’s incredibly dangerous, putting passengers’ lives at risk,” Rahayu stated.
“PT JN then manipulated the data, providing younger ages for the vessels,” he added.
According to Rahayu, this data manipulation went unchecked by ASDP officials, resulting in an overpayment for the acquisitions.
“But no checks were done by the ASDP team at the time. We were able to verify this information with the IMO,” he said.
The KPK also found that of the 53 ships acquired by PT ASDP, over a dozen were undergoing repairs and unavailable for use as of March 2025.
“There were 53 ships, but 16 were in dry dock, undergoing repairs and not yet operational,” Rahayu said.
The KPK also reviewed PT ASDP’s financial statements for the past four years. The findings revealed a loss of Rp 110 billion in 2021, Rp 126 billion in 2022, and a profit of only Rp 9 billion in 2023. A loss of Rp 35 billion is currently being audited for 2024.
“Over the past three years, the company’s financial performance has been largely negative,” Rahayu said.
Ira Puspadewi, former CEO of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero) from 2017-2024, received a sentence of four years and six months in prison on November 20, 2025, for corruption related to the acquisition of PT Jembatan Nusantara (PT JN) shares between 2019 and 2022. The court found her guilty as charged.
“The defendants have been proven guilty of committing corruption as indicted by the prosecutor,” said presiding judge Sunoto, as reported by Antara.
In addition to Ira, M Yusuf Hadi, former Commercial and Service Director of PT ASDP from 2019-2024, and Harry Muhammad Adhi Caksono, former Director of Planning and Development of PT ASDP from 2020-2024, each received a four-year prison sentence.
(ygs/azh)
