KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil grower Genting Plantations Bhd said its indirect subsidiary, PT Susantri Permai, has been issued with an administrative fine of 396 billion rupiah (US$23.46 million) by the Indonesian authorities.

In a bourse filing on Friday, Genting Plantations said its subsidiary received an interim notice about the fine from the Indonesian Forest Area Enforcement Task Force.

"PT Susantri Permai has made the necessary remittance as at the date of this announcement. The interim notice is awaiting finalisation from the authority," it said.

No details were provided on the specific violations that led to the administrative fine nor the size of the plantation that was seized in connection with the enforcement action.

Genting Plantations, a subsidiary of Genting Berhad, has a landbank of about 64,300 hectares in Malaysia and some 178,900 hectares in Indonesia.

Last year, the task force, consisting of the military, the police and state prosecutors, seized around 4.1 million hectares that were said to be operating illegally in forest areas, targeting both major palm oil companies and smallholder farmers.

The enforcement campaign is set to expand further this year, with the government looking to seize an additional 4 million to 5 million hectares (12 million acres) of palm oil plantations.

On Thursday, Indonesia's military-backed forestry task force threatened legal action against dozens of plantation and mining companies for refusing to pay the fines imposed on operations in forest areas that authorities had deemed illegal.