Indonesia to probe Telkomsel’s investment in GoTo Group

Around 37 members of Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) have signed a proposal to create a special committee. If the proposal is accepted, the committee will investigate state-owned telco company Telkomsel’s investment into GoTo Group, Tempo reported.

The petition has raised concerns over corruption, collusion, and nepotism. For example, the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Erick Thohir, is the younger brother of GoTo Group’s president commissioner, Garibaldi Thohir. State-owned companies like Telkomsel are held accountable by the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises.

A DPR commission also established a working committee to investigate the same matter and was scheduled to have a meeting with the Telkomsel president director today. One committee member said that if the petition for the special committee – whose members can come from any commission in the house – is approved, both groups can “synergize” to investigate the matter.

Telkomsel, a joint venture between Indonesia’s state-owned telco operator Telkom and Singapore’s Singtel, injected US$300 million into Gojek last year, in addition to the US$150 million in funding it provided the decacorn in 2020. In the last quarter, Gojek, which has merged with Tokopedia to form GoTo Group, posted a US$450 million loss.

In recent polls, Erick Thohir has emerged as one of the top 10 candidates to run for the country’s presidential election in 2024.

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