Sritex President Commissioner Iwan Setiawan Lukminto Arrested by Attorney General’s Office in Solo, Kompas.com

By Shela Octavia, Jessi Carina for Kompas.com, May 21, 2025

JAKARTA – Indonesia’s national Attorney General’s Office has detained Iwan Setiawan Lukminto, the President Commissioner of PT Sri Rejeki Isman TBK, known as Sritex. Febri Adriansyah, the Director of Special Crimes at the Attorney General’s Office, confirmed the arrest on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.

“Yes, he’s been arrested,” Febri confirmed. The arrest took place the previous evening in Solo, Central Java. The Attorney General’s Office has yet to disclose the specific reasons behind Iwan’s arrest.

However, for some time now the Attorney General’s Office has been conducting an investigation into allegations of corruption at Sritex. Investigators have also interrogated representatives from several regional banks to examine the credit extended to the failed company.

“The lending banks are government banks. According to the national finance law, funds from (government owned) regional banks are regarded as part of national government or regional government finances,” said Harli Siregar, Head of the Legal Information Center, during a meeting at the Attorney General’s Office on Monday, May 5, 2025.

The provision of credit warrants scrutiny, particularly as Sritex has recently faced significant funding difficulties.

Bankrupt

As reported previously, Sritex has been declared bankrupt by the Semarang Commercial Court. This decision was handed down in the court’s decision numbered 2/Pdt.Sus-Homologasi/2024/PN Niaga Smg, presided over by Chief Judge Moch Ansor on Monday, October 21, 2024.

The case was filed against several respondents, including PT Sri Rejeki Isman Tbk, PT Sinar Pantja Djaja, PT Bitratex Industries, and PT Primayudha Mandirijaya. These companies were found to have failed in their obligations to make payments to the petitioners as stipulated in a homologation decision dated January 25, 2022.

Consequently, this ruling simultaneously overturned the Semarang Commercial Court’s decision numbered 12/Pdt.Sus-PKPU/2021.PN.Niaga.Smg dated January 25, 2022, concerning the ratification of the settlement agreement (homologation).

Following the declaration of bankruptcy, the management of PT Sritex announced that it has filed a superior court appeal or cassation to contest the annulment of the homologation as decided by the Semarang Commercial Court.

After being declared bankrupt in October 2024, the company officially ceased operations as of March 1, 2025.

This article is based on https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2025/05/21/13035051/komut-sritex-iwan-setiawan-lukminto-ditangkap-kejagung-di-solo.

In earlier news…

Mass Layoffs at Sritex: Uncertain Severance Pay, Economic Hardship for Workers

By Yoma Times Suryadi for Project Multatuli, March 25, 2025

The hum of textile machinery at PT Sri Rejeki Isman (SRIL), commonly known as Sritex, fell silent on February 28, 2025, as the company officially ceased operations. A day later, on March 1, 2025—just a month before Eid al-Fitr—Sritex laid off 10,969 employees across its group.

Sritex and its three subsidiaries were declared bankrupt by the Semarang Commercial Court on October 21, 2024, under ruling No. 2/Pdt.Sus-Homologasi/2024/PN Niaga Smg. The company appealed to the Supreme Court, but on December 18, 2024, the appeal was rejected, rendering the bankruptcy decision final for the South East Asian textile giant.

Disbelief and Financial Uncertainty

Tumi, 52, a former Sritex employee, was stunned by the abrupt shutdown. She had believed the company could withstand its financial troubles. After 32 years with Sritex, she was proven wrong.

“I never expected it. Suddenly, on February 28, they shut down without any notice. That very morning, my colleagues and I showed up for work as usual, only to realize it was our last day,” she said, tears welling in her eyes.

Tumi, who worked in the spinning department, recalled that orders were still pending, scheduled for completion as late as July 2025. “Those were orders from Bandung,” she said. But after just ten days of work on them a layoff notice arrived via WhatsApp at the end of February.

“Honestly, leaving Sritex has been very hard. The bond with my coworkers was closer than with my own children,” she said.

“The pay wasn’t great, but it was about the feeling and camaraderie. Sometimes at home I find myself crying just thinking about it.”

Now, to keep the household going, Tumi and her husband, Paiman, 51, have started selling young coconut drinks outside their home. Luckily their house sits along a busy road. “It helps us get by,” she said.

At 53 Sri Sulastri shares Tumi’s struggle. Having worked at Sritex since 1991, she relied on her wages to support her family, as her husband, Sriyanto, is a casual laborer. With her younger child still in high school, financial stability remains uncertain.

Despite 33 years in the finishing department, Sulastri’s monthly salary remained at the Sukoharjo Regency minimum wage of approximately 2.3 million rupiah ($150) per month. Having worked there so long with such a low wage, she hopes for some severance pay but has no idea how much she might receive.

“I still can’t believe it. A company that big just shutting down like that?” she said. “The founder, HM Lukminto, built this from selling fabric at Klewer Market in the city of Solo to running a massive factory with thousands of workers.”
Sutardi, 60, a former maintenance worker, started at Sritex in 1989. He left in 2002 to open a dynamo repair shop but took up the offer to go back in 2011 because his workshop was so far from his home.

“I’m still waiting for what the company owes us—severance pay, holiday bonuses, and cooperative savings,” he said.

Fake Sympathy?

Tumi, Sri Sulastri, Sutardi, and thousands of other former employees are now fighting for their unpaid entitlements.

Murjioko, coordinator of “Command Post Orange”—a coalition of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) and Indonesia’s Labor Party—argued that the layoffs were unlawful. He said that the company had gone around legal processes, failing to consult workers or involve unions.

“Termination procedures are clearly regulated under Law No. 2/2004 On Labor Dispute Resolution. There should have been negotiations between the company and the workers, but that never happened,” he said.

Murjioko dismissed gestures from Sritex’s owners—such as hugging workers on their final day—as just gimmicks.

“It was all just for show. If they really cared about their workers, they would have paid the severance pay, holiday bonuses, and cooperative savings instead of leaving everything in limbo,” he said.

Hit Hard

The impact of the factory closing extends beyond employees, affecting the broader local community.

In Pangin neighborhood in Joho Village—just 300 meters from the factory—rooming houses once filled with Sritex workers now sit vacant. For years, these rooms were a steady source of income for locals, accommodating employees from across Indonesia, including East Java.

Warsih, 45, caretaker of a boarding house owned by Pak Togog, said all 15 rooms were constantly full while Sritex was operating.

“I’ve managed this place for 20 years and it has never been empty,” she said.
Beyond lodgings, the small business economy thrived. “I also sold iced tea,” Warsih added. “With so many workers around it was good business.”

Iin Wuryani, 53, a convenience store owner, echoed Warsih’s worries. Many locals operated food stalls, repair shops, and laundromats and all of them depended on Sritex workers for business. “Most of the employees had parents who also worked at Sritex,” she said. The factory’s stability even convinced Iin to leave her own job there after seven years to start her shop.

Now her six lodging rooms stand as empty as the factory itself.

“I just hope Sritex reopens under new ownership,” she said. “The whole community’s economy depends on it.”

This article is based on https://projectmultatuli.org/phk-buruh-sritex-pesangon-tak-jelas-ekonomi-warga-kandas/.

In related news:

• https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2025/08/13/20213471/kejagung-tetapkan-iwan-kurniawan-lukminto-tersangka-baru-kasus-sritex
• https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2025/06/18/09555591/penuhi-panggilan-kejagung-bos-sritex-iwan-kurniawan-mohon-doanya
• https://jateng.antaranews.com/berita/585321/dicegah-ke-luar-negeri-dirut-sritex-tidak-masalah
• https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2025/06/10/09403371/bos-sritex-iwan-kurniawan-tiba-di-kejagung-untuk-jalani-pemeriksaan
• https://money.kompas.com/read/2025/04/07/144125226/soal-phk-pt-yihong-novatex-ini-kata-wamenperin
• https://storiesfromindonesia.com/2025/03/11/transition-potential-banking-sector-impacts-of-a-sritex-failure-mulled/
• https://storiesfromindonesia.com/2025/03/06/sritex-workers-to-call-on-prabowo-government-for-clarity-over-jobs/