EFishery co-founder and ousted CEO Gibran Huzaifah has denied media reports saying he received a gross monthly salary of 1.28 billion rupiah (US$74,951) in 2024. 

“That amount is untrue – I don’t know where they got the data from,” he tells Tech in Asia.

Tech in Asia reviewed Huzaifah’s salary slips for January, September, October, and November 2024, along with November 2023. Each slip shows that Huzaifah’s gross salary was about 313 million rupiah (US$19,138) – a quarter of the figure cited in reports – while his take-home pay was around 206 million rupiah (US$12,550) per month.

Huzaifah’s bank statements for October and November 2024, which Tech in Asia cross-checked, reflected the same amount of take-home pay. However, the November 2023 slip shows his gross salary was approximately 298 million rupiah (US$18,220), which is closer to what was cited in media reports.

The co-founder says he is unable to provide more payslips as he no longer has access to his work email.

It’s unclear how the 1.2 billion rupiah gross monthly salary was calculated or if the amount included any bonus. Even if it did, that would imply Huzaifah’s bonus was 36x his monthly salary.

In a chart illustrating Huzaifah’s alleged salary hike, DealStreetAsia credited a “forensic investigation document” as the data source. It also cited a “planned police report” as the basis of its story.

A source familiar with the proceedings says FTI Consulting’s latest draft audit report does not discuss Huzaifah’s salary, though Tech in Asia could not independently verify this claim. 

The ex-CEO notes that eFishery’s performance bonuses typically ranged from one to two months’ salary and were paid every March of the following year.  That’s in addition to a one-month holiday bonus every year, a common practice among Indonesian companies.

According to Huzaifah, his salary and bonuses as CEO required approval from eFishery’s board. He added that HR director Caecilia Adinoto proposed the amounts, which were then approved by a compensation committee comprising Adinoto and board members Aldi Haryopratomo and Achim Eichenlaub.

Tech in Asia has reached out to eFishery and members of the company’s compensation committee for comment. FTI Consulting, which recently took over management of eFishery, declined to comment. 

On February 25, DealStreetAsia reported that Huzaifah and fellow eFishery co-founder Chrisna Aditya Wardani could face a Singapore police investigation over allegedly US$253 million in losses. The report also highlighted that Huzaifah’s monthly salary of 1.28 billion rupiah (US$74,951) had surged significantly from 284 million rupiah (US$17,358) in 2023. 

Huzaifah said he had not received the police report, though his personal legal team in Singapore is monitoring the FTI probe. In a previous interview with Tech in Asia, the co-founder denied inflating numbers for personal gain. 

See also: Gibran Huzaifah addresses eFishery fraud scandal for the first time