17/07/2012 (Tempo Interactive) - A palm oil firm received preliminary approval six years ago for a large plantation in a swampy, forested corner of Borneo island, bringing the promise of jobs and roads to impoverished villages. By the book, that would have marked the start of a lengthy licensing and environmental approvals process before clearing and planting could start.

The firm, PT Suryamas Cipta Perkasa (SCP), didn't wait. It quickly cleared thousands of hectares of forest. That revelation recently set off alarm bells at major international palm oil trading firms Bunge and Cargill, which have made public pledges to source edible oil from plantations developed without cutting down forests illegally.

PT SCP is now under investigation from a presidential taskforce on forests and land reform as well as local police for clearing and developing the concession before getting mandatory environmental approvals. The investigation has become a test of Indonesia's pledge to clamp down on illegal forest clearing and pull plantation and mining firms into line.

Pressure is also building on PT SCP's parent PT Best Agro International Group, a large unlisted Indonesian palm oil plantation owner, processor and exporter. Further examination of official documents, interviews and satellite images reveals how the 23,000-hectare (57,500 acre) concession in Central Kalimantan province was developed and cleared apparently in violation of multiple laws. "PT SCP is suspected to have committed violations to the concession area since three years ago at the very least," said Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, head of the presidential taskforce on forests and land reform. REUTERS