A foreign company can challenge a forged or fabricated document in Indonesia through civil proceedings, by reporting suspected forgery to law enforcement, or by challenging a transaction or corporate action carried out using the document.
When Can a Document Be Challenged as Forged or Fabricated?
Warning signs include a supposed signatory denying the signature, different versions of the same document appearing, dates or clauses being altered, or the document conflicting with the company’s original records. In a corporate dispute, a shareholder resolution might state that shareholders approved a transaction even though company records show that no meeting or written resolution took place.
An unfavorable or inaccurate document is not automatically forged. A contract may be genuine even if the parties disagree about what it means, whether it is valid, or whether the person who signed it had authority to do so. Forgery instead concerns whether the document, signature, alteration, or claimed signing is genuine.
How Does a Foreign Company Challenge the Document?
If the Document Is Used in an Indonesian Civil Dispute
Indonesian civil law distinguishes between authentic deeds (akta autentik) and privately signed documents (akta di bawah tangan). Authentic deeds, including deeds properly made before an authorized official such as a notary, generally carry stronger evidentiary weight than ordinary privately signed documents.
Where a signature on a privately signed document is denied, the court can examine its authenticity. Originals, genuine comparison documents, and witness or expert evidence may become relevant to that examination.
Indonesian law also recognizes electronic information, electronic documents, and their printouts as legal evidence, subject to applicable requirements. This can be particularly important where records are split between an Indonesian PT PMA and its overseas shareholders or parent company. Emails, shareholder messages, electronic drafts, document histories, board approvals, and earlier versions held overseas may contradict the document being relied upon in Indonesia.
If There Is Evidence of Deliberate Forgery or Fabrication
A document dispute can become a criminal matter where there is evidence that someone deliberately created or altered a false document or knowingly used one as genuine.
Indonesia’s current Criminal Code, which took effect in January 2026, contains offences covering document forgery and the use of false or falsified documents. It also deals specifically with certain documents that carry greater legal significance, including authentic deeds and documents relating to shares and land rights. Where the evidence indicates deliberate falsification, the company can consider reporting the suspected offence to Indonesian law enforcement.
A disagreement over what a genuine document means or whether the signatory had authority is not by itself document forgery. Where deliberate falsification is alleged, criminal proceedings can address responsibility for creating or using the document, while civil proceedings can determine whether rights or transactions based on it remain legally effective.
What If the Disputed Document Is a Notarial Deed?
The involvement of an Indonesian notary does not necessarily mean that every statement or supporting document behind a deed is beyond challenge.
There is an important difference between challenging the notarial deed itself and alleging that false information, signatures, statements, or supporting documents were used to prepare it.
A notarial deed may record a corporate action based on shareholder decisions, powers of attorney, statements, or other documents provided to the notary. If one of those underlying documents was allegedly fabricated, the company needs to identify exactly what is false rather than treating the deed and all the documents behind it as the same issue.
Corporate records, shareholder communications, original powers of attorney, attendance records, and records of the relevant shareholder decision may then help establish whether the corporate action recorded in the deed was authorized.
What If a False Document Has Already Been Used to Change a PT PMA or Transfer Assets?
A fabricated shareholder resolution or power of attorney could form part of the documents supporting a share transfer, amendment to a company’s articles of association, or change to its directors or commissioners. By the time the foreign shareholder discovers the issue, the corporate action may already have been recorded in a notarial deed or reflected in the company’s corporate filings.
Proving that the underlying document was fabricated does not automatically reverse the corporate action. The company may also need to establish where the document was submitted, what registrations or transactions followed, and whether third parties or government authorities relied on it before determining what further action needs to be challenged.
Challenge Forged Documents in Indonesia with Jarji Zaidan & Partners
Jarji Zaidan & Partners can advise foreign companies on challenging forged or fabricated documents and addressing corporate actions, transactions, or other legal consequences arising from their use in Indonesia. Contact us today at info@jarjizaidan-partners.com  or on WhatsApp +62 821-9000-3273 / +62 813-1403-8907.
