August 27, 2024
Mr. Shunichi Suzuki, Minister of Finance
Mr. Nobumitsu Hayashi, Governor, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)

Re: Request for Immediate Measures to End Public Financing for Corrupt andDirty Cirebon Coal-Fired Power Plant Project - Expansion Plan in Indonesia
With respect to the Cirebon Coal-Fired Power Plant Project - Expansion Plan (Unit 2, 1,000MW) (hereinafter "Cirebon 2") in West Java, Indonesia, for which the Japan Bank forInternational Cooperation (JBIC) has been disbursing the loans since November 14, 2017 [1],we have confirmed that the conviction of the former Cirebon regent was confirmed,including cases related to Cirebon 2 [2]. In response to this fact, we strongly urge JBIC, which
has continued to provide public finance for the unjustly proceeded Cirebon 2, promptly takemeasures to suspend your loan disbursement, to cancel the unutilized portion of loans, andto enforce mandatory prepayment of loans that you have disbursed to Cirebon 2, inaccordance with the "Recommendation of the Council on Bribery and Officially Supported
Export Credits” (hereinafter "OECD Bribery Recommendation")[3] and JBIC's “Anti-BriberyPolicy” [4].
Bribery allegations related to the Cirebon 2 have been raised since 2019. In March 2023, theIndonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) indicted the former Cirebon regent inrelation to a series of bribery and money laundering, and the former Cirebon regent wasconvicted in the first verdict dated August 18, 2023 and the second verdict on appeal dated
October 17, 2023, including the bribery case related to Cirebon 2. Although KPK and thedefendant respectively filed appeals thereafter, it has been revealed that the Supreme
Court made a decision on April 3, 2024, to dismiss the appeals. In other words, the decisionof the Court of Appeals is now valid.
As we have been pointing out, the Court of Appeals' verdict generally included the following
information about the bribery cases related to Cirebon 2 (positions of the persons indicatedare of that of the time of the cases); Two senior managements of Cirebon Energi Prasarana (CEPR) (one of them is CEPR
President Director, Heru Dewanto, and the other is Teguh Haryono) handed over 1billion rupiahs to the Cirebon regent, requesting the Cirebon regent to ensure thesmooth issuance of the construction permits for Cirebon 2 that CEPR had applied for,and also to provide support in dealing with the demonstrations against theconstruction of Cirebon 2;
 Two senior managements of CEPR (same as above) introduced a few officials ofHyundai Engineering and Construction Co, (hereinafter "Hyundai"), the EPC
contractor for Cirebon 2, (Deputy General Manager Herry Jung, Administration
Manager Kim Tae Hwa, Cirebon 2 Construction Site Project Manager Am Huh) to theCirebon regent. CEPR informed the Cirebon regent that Herry Jung would continue
1to handle the permit process in relation to the CEPR's application. They also asked
the Cirebon regent to support CEPR in completing the application process promptly
and to deal with the demonstrations. It was also informed that the "operational
funds" of the Cirebon regent would be provided by the above three members ofHyundai.
 After Herry Jung of Hyundai told the Cirebon regent again about the problems withthe construction permits and the residents' demonstrations, the regent ordered theDPMPTSP (the Investment and One-Stop Integrated Service) officials to help theCEPR accelerate the permitting process. After helping with the permitting process,
Herry Jung of Hyundai paid 50 million rupiahs directly to the DPMPTSP officials;
 The Cirebon regent requested "operational funds" to calm down the protests of local
residents. The "funds" were to be paid by Hyundai as a contract for fictitious
consulting services (10 billion rupiahs);
 The Cirebon regent asked the Beber district head to let her son-in-law (who was also
the son-in-law of the district head of Astanajapura district, where Cirebon 2 project
is located)'s company, Milades Indah Mandiri (MIM), participate in a fictitious
contract with Hyundai. However, MIM was not a consulting firm, but merely an
event organizer company;
 On June 14, 2017, a fictitious project contract (totaling 10 billion rupiahs) was signed
between MIM and Hyundai for consultancy work of Cirebon 2;
 Between June 2017 and October 2018, "funds" of 7.02 billion rupiahs were paid tothe Cirebon regent in four installments by a few officials of Hyundai through MIM;
 In July 2017, the Cirebon regent and others traveled to South Korea, with Hyundai
covering the expenses.
For the bribery case related to Cirebon 2, the former Cirebon regent and a former senior
official of Hyundai had already been identified as suspects by the KPK in 2019, and theabove-mentioned two former senior managements of CEPR had also been banned fromtraveling outside Indonesia. In addition, as described above, it is an extremely crucial factthat the court decision mentions that the bribery in connection with Cirebon 2 wasdefinitely committed, and that not only Hyundai but also former senior managements ofCEPR, the direct borrower of JBIC, were also involved in the said bribery.
We have consistently demanded that JBIC stop the disbursement of the loan and the likes.
The main reason for such a request is the impact on the life, culture, and health of the local
community. Since 2007, when the construction of the Cirebon Coal-Fired Power Plant
Project- Unit 1 (660 MW) (hereinafter "Cirebon 1") began, coastal livelihoods such as smallscale fisheries and salt pans have been severely affected and the local people have been
forced to live in hardship. The concrete explanations for those damages are provided in theresidents' objection letter concerning Cirebon 1 (November 2016) [5] and the objection2

letter concerning Cirebon 2 (May 2017) [6], which pointed out violations of the “JBIC
Guidelines for Confirmation of Environmental and Social Considerations.”
It is an intolerable injustice that the serious damage to livelihoods and health faced by thelocal community have been caused by Cirebon 2, or corruption-ridden and dirty projects
with huge profits for big companies and local politicians. In addition, with regard to Cirebon
2, many issues have been pointed out that cannot be overlooked, including illegal processes,
such as violation of the Cirebon Regency Spatial Plan and the improper issuance ofenvironmental permits; human rights violations, such as harassment and intimidation
against residents who express opposition and concerns; and retrogression against climatechange measures. To begin with, the necessity of the Cirebon 2 project in the Java-Bali
power grid, which is expected to have a reserve margin of 40-60% (from 2021 to 2030) [7],has also been questioned.
The Japanese government and JBIC must take responsibility for continuously providing
public finance for the unjust, unfair, and unnecessary Cirebon 2 project by promptly
suspending the loan disbursement, canceling the unutilized portion of loans, and enforcing
mandatory prepayment of loans for Cirebon 2 project. And it must also fulfill its
accountability as a public institution with regard to what measures JBIC is planning to take/has taken in response to the confirmed conviction in the bribery case related to Cirebon 2.
We reiterate our strong demand that the Japanese government and JBIC take immediateand appropriate actions.

Cc:
Mr. Ken Saito, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Mr. Atsuo Kuroda, Chairman and CEO, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI)
Mr. Yoon Hee-sung, Chairman & President, The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM)
Mr. Steven van Rijswijk, CEO, ING Bank N.V.
Mr. Hironori Kamezawa, President & Group CEO, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.
Mr. Toru Nakashima, Group CEO, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.
Mr. Masahiro Kihara, President & Group CEO, Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.
Mr. Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development BankINITIAL SIGNATORIESRapel (Rakyat Penyelamat Lingkungan)
KARBON (KOALISI RAKYAT BERSIHKAN CIREBON)WALHI West Java
Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia
LIST OF ENDORSERS
This letter is endorsed by 73 organizations, including those working at international andregional levels plus organizations working nationally in 24 countries.
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INDONESIAN ORGANIZATIONS
350.org Indonesia
AEER (Action for Ecology and People Emancipation)
Aliansi Bersihkan Indramayu
Green Youth Movement
Greenpeace Indonesia
Jaringan Advokasi Tambang (JATAM)
KRuHA
Lembaga Penerapan Teknologi Tepat
Perkumpulan Inisiatif
POKJA 30 KALTIMPSAK
Pusat sumber daya komunitas
Rhizoma Indonesia
Solidaritas Perempuan
Trend Asia
WALHI East JavaWALHI South Sulawesi
Yayasan Indonesia Cerah (CERAH)
Yayasan Srikandi Lestari
REGIONAL AND/ OR INTERNATIONAL LEVEL ORGANISATIONSFriends of the Earth International
International Accountability Project
Leave it in the Ground Initiative (LINGO)
Market Forces
Recourse350 Asia
Africa Coal Network
APMDDFair Finance Asia
Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific
Friends of the Earth Europe
GAIA Asia Pacific
NGO Forum on ADB
Oil Change International
NATIONAL-LEVEL ORGANIZATIONS
Albania
EDEN centerArgentina
Tierra Nativa
Australia
Friends of the Earth Australia
Bangladesh Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association
Participatory Research & Action Network- PRAAN
Cambodia
Equitable Cambodia
4Canada
Denmark
Germany
Ghana
HungaryJapan

Friends of the Earth Canada
NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark
UrgewaldAbibiNsroma Foundation
National Society of Conservationists - Friends of the Earth Hungary
350.org Japan
Friends of the Earth Japan
GENPATU SAYONARA TIBAITIHARA KENPOUWO IKASUKAI
Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES)
Japan Tropical Forest Action Network (JATAN)
Kiko Network
Mekong Watch
Network for Indonesian Democracy, Japan (NINDJA)
No Nukes Asia Forum Japan
Pacific Asia Resource Center (PARC)SEKITAN KARYOKUWO KANGAERU ITIHARANOKAI
Luxembourg Mouvement Ecologique asbl., FoMalaysia
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM/ Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
Mongolia
Oyu Tolgoi Watch
Rivers without Boundaries Coalition
MyanmarKaren Environmental and Social Action Network - KESANNepal
Community Empowerment and Social Justice Network (CEMSOJ)
Netherlands BankTrack
Pakistan
Alternative Law Collective (ALC)
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum
Policy Research Institute for Equitable Development (PRIED)
Philippines
Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED)
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center
Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ)
South Korea Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC)
Sri Lanka
Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ / Friends of the Earth Sri Lanka)
Togo
Les Amis de la Terre-Togo
United Kingdom
Corner House ResearchContact:
WALHI West Java
Address: Jalan Simphoni No. 29, Kel. Turangga, Kec. Lengkong, Kota Bandung, Jawa Barat
40264, Indonesia
TEL: +62 22 63175011
Email: walhijabar@gmail.com

Footnotes:5

[1] https://www.jbic.go.jp/en/information/press/press-2017/1114-58532.html[2] https://sipp.pn-bandung.go.id/ (Case Number: 49/Pid.Sus-TPK/2023/PN Bdg) (Cassation
Decision Number: 2605 K/Pid.Sus/2024)[3] https://one.oecd.org/document/TAD/ECG(2019)2/En/pdf
The OECD Bribery
Recommendation recommends as “Post-final commitment” that "Take appropriate action,
consistent with their national laws and without causing prejudice to the rights of any parties
not responsible for bribery, such as enhanced due diligence, denial of payment,indemnification, or refund of sums provided, if, in relation to the transaction, one of theparties involved is convicted of violation of laws against bribery, subjected to equivalentmeasures, or found as part of a publicly-available arbitral award to have engaged inbribery.”[4] https://www.jbic.go.jp/en/support-menu/export/prevention.html[5] https://www.foejapan.org/en/aid/161110.html[6] https://www.foejapan.org/en/aid/170524.html[7] https://ieefa.org/resources/indonesia-wants-go-greener-pln-stuck-excess-capacity-coalfired-power-plants

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