In mid-December 2024, eFishery suspended CEO Gibran Huzaifah and Chief Product Officer (CPO) Chrisna Aditya amid an investigation into alleged fraud. The company appointed Adhy Wibisono as interim CEO and Albertus Sasmitra as interim CFO. However, DealStreetAsia reported that Adhy resigned from his position last week, with Martin Wong from FTI Consulting stepping in as interim CEO.

Gibran Huzaifah denied accusations of embezzling company funds. "There is no embezzlement of funds and no dual reporting," he told Katadata.co.id on Monday (February 24).

The allegations stem from a leaked 52-page interim report by FTI Consulting, which was shared among investors and reviewed by Bloomberg News. The report claims that eFishery’s management inflated financial figures, reporting a profit of US$16 million (Rp 261.3 billion) and revenue of US$752 million (Rp 12.3 trillion) from January to September 2024. In reality, the report suggests the company actually recorded a loss of US$35.4 million (Rp 578 billion), with revenues estimated at US$157 million (Rp 2.6 trillion).

According to the report, eFishery allegedly inflated revenues by almost US$600 million over the nine-month period ending in September 2024. It also states that eFishery kept two sets of financial records since 2018—one for external investors and another for internal use—with revenues reportedly boosted by 20% to 25% to meet Series A funding targets.

To cover the discrepancies, the report claims Gibran established five new companies in January 2022, allegedly to enable "round-tripping"—transferring funds between related companies to create the appearance of revenue. It also accuses Gibran of falsifying invoices to make fake transactions seem legitimate, allowing the manipulated financial reports to pass audits conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Grant Thornton.

Furthermore, eFishery reported having over 400,000 fish farming partners, but investigations revealed the actual number was around 24,000.

Indonesian National Police's Public Relations Division Head, Brigadier General Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko, confirmed that reports had been filed against two company executives with the initials G and C. "Reports have been filed since 2024, approximately two to three months ago," he stated, adding that investigations are ongoing.

Katadata.co.id has reached out to eFishery’s management under FTI Consulting for comment, but there has been no response.

PHOTO: DOK. EFISHERY

This article was created with AI assistance.