Findings behind the recommendation
Investigators across Indonesia found repeated fires on corporate concessions, evidence that blazes had started on company land, inadequate firefighting facilities and burned areas larger than 500 hectares, according to ANTARA.
Police Commissioner General Asep Safrudin, who heads the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency, known as Bareskrim Polri, said investigators were using scientific methods to meet evidentiary requirements. He emphasized that police do not have the final authority to revoke permits.
Corporate and individual investigations
At the time of the briefing, police were investigating 97 corporations, including 22 with foreign links, according to New Straits Times (Bernama). Twenty companies had been named suspects: 16 domestically invested businesses and four foreign-invested firms with investors from Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea.
The Straits Times reported that nine of the 22 foreign-linked companies had ties to Singapore and eight to Malaysia. Two were linked to Britain, while China, Japan and South Korea accounted for one each.
Police recorded 104 reports involving corporate responsibility for fires that burned 29,168 hectares. West Kalimantan had the largest number of corporate cases, with 33 reports. Regional figures reported by New Straits Times (Bernama) also included 20 in South Sumatra, 14 in Central Kalimantan, 13 in South Kalimantan and seven in East Kalimantan.
The corporate suspects face investigation under Articles 98, 99 and 108 of Indonesia's 2009 Environmental Protection and Management Law, New Straits Times (Bernama) reported. The provisions address intentional or negligent environmental offenses and land burning. Individuals found liable can face up to 15 years in prison, and fines can reach 15 billion rupiah.
Police also filed 287 reports involving individuals and named 245 people as suspects over fires affecting roughly 5,859 hectares. West Kalimantan led this category as well, with 68 reports, followed by Riau with 59, Central Kalimantan with 43, South Sumatra with 42 and East Kalimantan with 30, according to New Straits Times (Bernama).
Fire damage and concession hotspots
The Wikipedia record of the 2026 Indonesia wildfires cites two dated assessments of the burned area. Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said on August 18 that fires had affected 202,000 hectares nationwide. Nusantara Atlas satellite data put the total at 1.92 million hectares by the end of September, twice the area recorded a month earlier.
The same record cites data attributing 1,700 deaths in August to the fires, along with more than 283,000 cases of acute respiratory tract infections across seven provinces between August 18 and October 13.
It also cites findings by WALHI, the Indonesian Forum for Environment, that 74% of Kalimantan's hotspots were inside corporate concessions. WALHI counted 10,739 hotspots in oil palm plantation areas covered by Right to Cultivate (HGU) rights, 7,880 in mining concessions and 6,905 in areas covered by Forest Utilization Business Permits (PBPH).
Government sanctions and Singapore inquiries
At an October 21 Cabinet meeting, President Prabowo Subianto directed police and prosecutors to pursue corporations as well as individuals, The Straits Times reported. He described the fires as a "crime against humanity," compared them to "environmental terrorism" and said many companies bore responsibility.
In a separate enforcement action, Indonesia's Forestry Ministry sanctioned 32 companies over fires affecting approximately 12,927 hectares in seven provinces, according to Insurance Business. Five companies had their permits revoked. Another 19 faced both permit suspensions and restoration orders, while eight received restoration orders without suspensions.
Singapore's National Environment Agency issued legal notices requiring 10 Indonesian companies to submit documents and information about their links to the fires, The Straits Times reported. Senior executives from those companies were called to meet Senior Minister K. Shanmugam on October 28. Separately, the Singapore Exchange asked seven Singapore-listed agricultural companies about their operations and any connections to the fires.
