The Indonesian government have arrested the country’s fisheries minister on charges of corruption related to a controversial policy to resume exports of baby lobsters.
Agents from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested Edhy Prabowo, his wife and a number of other ministry officials in the early hours of Nov. 25 at Soekarno-Hatta airport, upon their arrival from the U.S. They are being held for questioning at the KPK headquarters in Jakarta.
“It is true that [the arrest] is connected to the lobster larvae export,” KPK deputy commissioner Nurul Ghufron told broadcaster Kompas TV.
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Edhy’s arrest is the latest development stemming from his widely criticized decision in May to lift a ban, imposed by former fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti, on exports of lobster larvae. Conservationists warned the new policy would undo efforts to replenish Indonesia’s wild lobster stocks, while fisheries industry watchers and investigative reporting found the selection of approved exporters was rife with nepotism and cronyism.
“So many things in the lobster larvae export policy aren’t transparent or accountable,” Susan Herawati, secretary-general of the NGO Coalition for Fisheries Justice (KIARA), said in a statement received by Mongabay after Edhy’s arrest.
Former minister Susi had imposed the export ban in 2016 to prevent the overfishing of wild lobster stocks in Indonesian waters. Edhy, who has feuded publicly with Susi on several issues since taking office last year, first touted the plan to end the ban last December, saying he wanted to cater to small fishermen who depended on export markets. He also said Susi’s ban had failed to tackle the illegal lobster market.
Mongabay