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View all search resultsTaniHub, Investree fraud scandals raise concerns about SOE start-up bets
The venture capital arms of Telkom, BRI and Bank Mandiri are entangled with fraud-ridden start-ups, with the CEO of Telkom’s VC arm currently detained as a suspect.
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PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk, commonly known as Telkom Indonesia, is a multinational Indonesian telecommunications conglomerate. (Shutterstock/Faishalabdula)
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string of fraud cases involving tech start-ups that secured hefty investments from the venture capital (VC) units of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) including Telkom, Bank Mandiri and BRI, has raised alarm bells over governance in high-risk, public-linked deals.
Analysts say the SOEs, now managed under the newly formed state asset fund Danantara, must enforce clearer risk limits and boost transparency to avoid deeper financial and reputational fallout.
Agriculture tech start-up TaniHub, once praised for its mission to connect farmers with consumers through a digital platform, is currently under investigation for the alleged misuse of US$25 million in equity funding.
The investment at the center of the investigation was made by MDI Ventures and BRI Ventures, the venture capital arms of state-owned PT Telkom Indonesia and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), respectively. Telkomsel Mitra Investasi (TMI), the VC unit of Telkom’s cellular operator Telkomsel, was also among TaniHub’s investors.
While prosecutors have not specified which funding round is under scrutiny, records show that MDI Ventures led TaniHub’s US$65.5 million Series B round in 2021, with participation from BRI Ventures and TMI.
On Monday, the South Jakarta District Attorney’s Office (DAO) detained three individuals in connection with the case: MDI Ventures CEO Donald Wihardja, former TaniHub CEO Ivan Arie Sustiawan and former TaniHub director Edison Tobing.
BRI Ventures, along with Bank Mandiri’s VC unit Mandiri Capital, also invested in another fraud-ridden peer-to-peer (P2P) lending firm, Investree.
