In connection with a US$ 12 billion crude oil corruption scandal, one of the top executives of a subsidiary of the nation’s state-owned oil and gas company, Pertamina, was detained on Monday ( Feb 24 ).
According to the Jakarta Globe, Riva Siahaan, who is the president and chairman of Pertamina Patra Niaga, the company’s income division, is one of the seven people listed.
Executives from Kilang Pertamina Internasional and Pertamina International Shipping, as well as those from the private sector, are among the those who have been detained by the Attorney General’s Office ( AGO ).
Their names were disclosed solely by their names, the Jakarta Globe reported.
The seven were accused of breaking federal rules, according to AGO official Harli Siregar, who says Pertamina places a high priority on locally produced crude oil for domestic gas production.
According to the regulation, Pertamina is required to source crude oil from local suppliers and enhance it directly to meet nationwide fuel demands.
According to The Jakarta Globe, the company imported crude oil to meet output goals, raising questions about economic mismanagement.
According to the Jakarta Globe, Abdul Qohar, the AG O’s director of corruption investigations, the illegal crude oil trade between 2018 and 2023 reportedly caused a state loss of 193.7 trillion rupiah ( US$ 11.9 billion ).
” Based on witness statements, expert opinions, and legally obtained papers, the research team has identified seven suspects”, Abdul said, adding that the seven have been detained and are undergoing clinical check-up.
However, Pertamina official Fadjar Djoko Santoso said that the state-owned organization may cooperate with prosecutors during the inspection.
According to a declaration from the Jakarta Globe, Fadjar said,” Pertamina is committed to cooperating with law enforcement agencies to ensure due legal process while upholding the presumption of innocence.”
President Prabowo Subianto reaffirmed his support for those found guilty of bone in December. The obvious U-turn came days after a speech that his administration may forgive those accused of the crime.
Since then, Prabowo has urged magistrates to take a tougher attitude on transplant prisoners, claiming that they deserve to spend years in prison, especially if the crimes they committed have resulted in hundreds of billions of rupees in state costs.