Indonesia’s illegal tin crackdown squeezes overseas supply, former minister says
Former finance minister Fuad Bawazier said overseas companies were struggling for raw materials as Indonesia curbed tin smuggling.
Indonesia’s campaign against illegal tin mining and smuggling is leaving some overseas companies short of raw materials, according to former finance minister Fuad Bawazier. He linked the supply difficulties to enforcement under President Prabowo Subianto.
Speaking on CNBC Indonesia’s Cuap Cuap Cuan podcast, in remarks cited on 22 October 2026, Fuad alleged that foreign industries had knowingly relied on tin smuggled from Indonesia. He said weak oversight and law enforcement had allowed those supplies to reach overseas manufacturers.
CNBC Indonesia reported that authorities had closed around 1,000 illegal mining sites in Bangka Belitung, linking the action to improved financial performance at state-owned PT Timah Tbk.
Prabowo had earlier credited the crackdown with lifting PT Timah’s profit by 900% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. At a dialogue with senior journalists and experts in Hambalang, West Java, on 6 September 2026, he said stopping smuggling and shutting illegal mines had helped restore the company’s profitability.
