JAKARTA: A top executive of a subsidiary of the country’s state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina is among seven people arrested on Monday (Feb 24) in relation to a US$12 billion crude oil corruption scandal.
The Jakarta Globe on Tuesday reported that the seven include Riva Siahaan, who is the president director of Pertamina Patra Niaga – the sales arm of Pertamina.
The others arrested by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) include executives from two other Pertamina subsidiaries – Kilang Pertamina Internasional and Pertamina International Shipping – as well those from the private sector.
Their names were disclosed only by their initials, the Jakarta Globe reported.
AGO spokesman Harli Siregar told the media that the seven were accused of violating government regulations that require Pertamina to prioritise locally sourced crude oil for domestic fuel production.
“The regulation mandates Pertamina to source crude oil from domestic suppliers and refine it locally to meet national fuel demands.”
The Jakarta Globe reported that the firm had imported crude oil to meet production targets, raising suspicions of financial mismanagement.
Citing the AGO’s director of corruption investigations Abdul Qohar, the Jakarta Globe reported that the illegal crude oil trade between 2018 and 2023 resulted in an estimated state loss of 193.7 trillion rupiah (US$11.9 billion).
“Based on witness statements, expert opinions, and legally obtained documents, the investigation team has identified seven suspects,” Abdul said, adding that the seven have been detained and are undergoing medical check-up.
Meanwhile, Pertamina spokesman Fadjar Djoko Santoso said that the state-owned firm will cooperate with prosecutors during the investigation.
“Pertamina is committed to cooperating with law enforcement agencies to ensure due legal process while upholding the presumption of innocence,” Fadjar said in a statement, as reported by the Jakarta Globe.
In December, President Prabowo Subianto doubled down on his stance against those convicted of graft. The apparent U-turn came days after an earlier statement suggesting his administration might pardon those accused of the crime.
Prabowo has since urged judges to adopt a tougher stance on graft convicts, stating that they deserve to be imprisoned for decades especially if the crimes they committed have caused hundreds of trillions of rupiahs in state losses.
