Perwira Steel Chief Says Ferry Boboho Sought Rp 22.5 Billion to Keep Legal Case From Escalating
Perwira Steel President Director Hermon Tjandi testified on November 4, 2026, that Ferry Yanto Hongkiriwang, known as Ferry Boboho, offered to prevent the company's legal troubles from escalating in return for Rp 22.5 billion. Hermon told the Jakarta Corruption Court that the company paid the money but ultimately was convicted and fined in its steel import case.
Payments under a five-year agreement
Hermon said he turned to Ferry after encountering legal problems at PT Perwira Adhitama Sejati, which operates as Perwira Steel. With no previous experience handling such matters, he was unsure what to do. Ferry offered assistance through the law firm Prime Solution Associates.
The arrangement called for a five-year retainer of Rp 25 billion, Hermon testified. After other costs were deducted, the company transferred Rp 22.5 billion to the firm. Transaction records prosecutors presented at the November 2 hearing showed five payments of Rp 4.5 billion each during June and July 2022.
Hermon said the company's dealings with the firm amounted to conversations about his concerns and verbal advice, rather than legal assistance during the investigation or trial. He received neither legal documents nor written advice, including during the trial, and said he did not know what attorneys typically charged.
Despite Ferry's assurance that the steel import case would not escalate, the company was named a corporate suspect, convicted and fined, according to Hermon's testimony.
Questions about the promised help
During the November 4 hearing, a prosecutor checked Hermon's account against his examination record dated July 27, 2026. Hermon confirmed the account.
Asked whether he had questioned Ferry about how he would stop the case from advancing, Hermon said he had not. He attributed that decision to the pressure and confusion he felt while facing an unfamiliar legal process. "At that time, we were truly perplexed, sir. I was stressed," he said.
Ferry had testified two days earlier that none of the Rp 22.5 billion from Perwira Steel went to Febrie Adriansyah. At that hearing, he also acknowledged owning the law firm and managing its accounts despite having no legal background and not being an attorney, according to Kompas.id.
The extortion and money laundering trial
Hermon appeared as a witness in the extortion and money laundering trial of Febrie, the former deputy attorney general for special crimes, or Jampidsus. The other defendants are attorney Don Ritto, known as Idon, and Nurman Herin, a commissioner of PT Koin Money Changer. Chief Judge Akhmad Fijiarsyah Joko Sutrisno is presiding.
The indictment read on October 7, 2026, accuses Febrie of receiving Rp 346,743,821,282 and US$440,990 allegedly derived from corruption between 2020 and July 2026. In its November 2 opening statement, the Attorney General's Office prosecution said it had prepared 103 witnesses and five experts to establish the money laundering allegations.
A separate allegation concerns businessman Tan Kian. Prosecutors accuse Febrie of extorting 5 million Singapore dollars, about Rp 55 billion, from him through Ferry in connection with the handling of the PT Asuransi Jiwasraya corruption case.
In his November 2 testimony, Ferry said he received Rp 55 billion from Tan Kian and passed Rp 50 billion to Febrie through Nurman. Ferry said he retained the remaining Rp 5 billion for himself but had returned it to prosecutors.