Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office has named seven individuals as suspects in an alleged corruption case involving the management of crude oil and refinery products within state-owned energy company PT Pertamina and its subsidiaries from 2018 to 2023.
The decision was made following an extensive investigation by the Attorney General’s Office’s Special Crimes Unit (Jampidsus), which included questioning at least 96 witnesses and obtaining statements from two additional witnesses.
Director of Investigations at Jampidsus, Abdul Qohar, stated that four of the suspects are Pertamina employees, while three are from the private sector. Among the suspect was RS, the President Director of PT Pertamina Patra Niaga.
“Based on the examination and the evidence we have gathered during the investigation, the Jampidsus team has sufficient preliminary evidence to name seven suspects,” Qohar said at a press conference on Monday (February 24), as reported by CNN Indonesia.
The suspects include:
- RS, President Director of PT Pertamina Patra Niaga
- SDS, Director of Feedstock and Product Optimization at PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional
- YF, President Director of PT Pertamina International Shipping
- AP, VP of Feedstock Management at PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional
- MKAN, Beneficial Owner of PT Navigator Khatulistiwa
- DW, Commissioner of PT Navigator Khatulistiwa and PT Jenggala Maritim
- YRJ, Commissioner of PT Jenggala Maritim and President Director of PT Orbit Terminal Mera
All seven suspects were immediately detained for 20 days starting February 24.
Background Case
The corruption case stems from the government’s initiative to secure domestic crude oil supply between 2018 and 2023. Under Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Regulation No. 42 of 2018, Pertamina was required to source crude oil from domestic contractors before resorting to imports.
However, Qohar revealed that suspects RS, SDS, and AP conspired to manipulate decisions in the downstream organizational meeting (ROH).
“The meeting’s outcome was used as a basis to lowering the refinery production, resulting in domestic crude oil not being fully absorbed. Ultimately, crude oil and refinery product demands were met through imports,” he explained.
As a result, Pertamina’s subsidiaries imported crude oil and refinery products, with significant price differences compared to domestic sources.
At the same time, domestic crude oil production by contractors (KKKS) was deliberately rejected, allegedly for not meeting economic feasibility, even though its pricing aligned with estimated costs.
Additionally, domestically produced crude was claimed to be non-compliant with specifications, despite being suitable for processing.
“When domestic crude oil from KKKS was rejected based on these reasons, it became the basis for exporting Indonesian crude oil instead,” Qohar stated.
The Attorney General’s Office also suspects collusion in the crude oil export process, with the accused manipulating prices for personal gain, causing financial losses to the state.
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Financial Losses
The Attorney General’s Office estimates that the corruption case by PT Pertamina has caused losses exceeding Rp193 trillion ($12.5 billion).
“These unlawful actions have resulted in an estimated financial loss to the state of around Rp193.7 trillion,” Qohar said at Monday’s press conference.
According to Attorney General’s Office the losses stem from multiple sources, including domestic crude oil exports, crude oil imports through brokers, fuel imports through brokers, compensation payments, and subsidies due to inflated oil prices.
- Losses from domestic crude oil exports amount to approximately Rp35 trillion.
- Losses from crude oil imports through DMUT/Brokers are estimated at around Rp2.7 trillion.
- Losses from fuel imports via DMUT/Brokers total approximately Rp9 trillion.
- Losses from compensation payments in 2023 are estimated at around Rp126 trillion.
- Losses from subsidies granted in 2023 amount to approximately Rp21 trillion.
Pertamina’s Response
Pertamina Vice President of Corporate Communication, Fadjar Djoko Santoso, stated that the company respects the legal process and is committed to cooperating with authorities regarding the corruption case.
He emphasized that Pertamina operates under principles of transparency and accountability, adhering to Good Corporate Governance (GCG) and applicable regulations.
“Pertamina respects the Attorney General’s Office in carrying out its duties and authority in this ongoing legal process,” Fadjar said in a written statement on Monday evening.
“We are ready to cooperate with law enforcement and hope that the legal process proceeds smoothly while upholding the presumption of innocence,” he added.
(Raidi/Agung)
