The Prosecutor\u2019s Office presented former Pertamina Chief Commissioner\nBasuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) as a witness in a corruption trial\nconcerning the procurement of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Ahok reported\nthat during his first meeting with the board of directors, he received\ninformation about anticipated losses from LNG purchases.<\/p>\n
The hearing took place at the Corruption Court in Jakarta on Monday,\n2 March 2026. Ahok stated that during a board meeting, he discovered\nplans for LNG imports, yet the directors did not possess buyer\ncommitment contracts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I remember, Prosecutor, when I first entered in January, there\nwas a routine BOD-BOC meeting. At that meeting it was conveyed that\nthere would be losses from LNG sales,\u201d Ahok said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLosses? Who conveyed this?,\u201d the prosecutor asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe directors. That is what I remember. Then when we first entered,\nwe were surprised why there could be losses. Then there was debate at\nthat meeting. There were purchase contracts, but there were no committed\nbuyer contracts,\u201d Ahok replied.<\/p>\n
Ahok explained that when importing LNG, there should ordinarily\nalready be commitment contracts with buyers. He stated that at that time\nin 2020, losses of USD 100 million were discovered with potential losses\nreaching USD 300 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we heard at that time, which I also conveyed in the\ninvestigation report, is that usually for LNG purchases, there is\nalready buyer commitment,\u201d Ahok clarified.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there is an end-user?,\u201d the prosecutor asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, there is. If I am not mistaken, at that time PLN did not sign\noff on the price. Shipment had to proceed, if I am not mistaken perhaps\nthe price would later be noted for you. So there was a loss of over USD\n100 million. Then projected for 2020, there was cargo that also had no\nbuyers yet. If that happened, the loss might be USD 300 million,\u201d Ahok\nreplied.<\/p>\n
\u201cDollars?,\u201d the prosecutor asked.<\/p>\n
Ahok explained that he and the board of commissioners requested an\naudit. The findings revealed that for the LNG import activities, the\ndirectors should have requested approval from the board of commissioners\nand the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises.<\/p>\n
\u201cData emerged from the examination by the internal audit function,\nwherein it was conveyed that the LNG purchase was material in nature. In\nthe articles of association, material means the value of expenditure\nthat will have an impact on the company. That is then considered\nmaterial, and typically in a company, if considered material, it should\nrequest approval from the board of commissioners. Or even higher up, I\nforget the amount, it must be reported and submitted to a General\nMeeting of Shareholders to the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises,\u201d\nAhok said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that time was there any submission in that regard?,\u201d the\nprosecutor asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found none at all,\u201d Ahok replied.<\/p>\n
Charges<\/p>\n
Previously, the Public Prosecutor at the Corruption Eradication\nCommission (KPK) indicted two new defendants in the LNG procurement\ncorruption case, causing state losses of USD 113 million. The two\ndefendants are former Pertamina Gas Director Hari Karyuliarto and former\nVP Strategic Planning Business Development of Pertamina\u2019s Gas\nDirectorate Yenni Andayani.<\/p>\n
The indictment hearing took place at the Corruption Court in Central\nJakarta on Tuesday, 23 December 2025. Both are accused of committing\nacts together with former Pertamina Chief Executive Galaila Karen\nKardinah, also known as Karen Agustiawan, who was previously convicted\nin this case.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommitting acts to enrich themselves or others or a corporation,\nspecifically enriching Galaila Karen Kardinah alias Karen Agustiawan by\nRp 1,091,280,281 (approximately Rp 1 billion) and USD 104,016, and\nenriching the corporation Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC by USD\n113,839,186 (USD 113 million),\u201d the prosecutor stated.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor said the loss figure was based on an investigative\nexamination report by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK). The prosecutor\nsaid the gas purchase was conducted on the grounds that domestic gas\nstocks were limited, necessitating Pertamina to purchase gas from the\nUnited States.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor stated that the principle approval for LNG procurement\nwas issued by Karen without implementation guidelines for LNG\nprocurement. The LNG procurement, according to the prosecutor, was\nconducted based on best practices consistently followed by Pertamina as\na state-owned LNG seller.<\/p>\n
Following various negotiation processes and internal discussion\nprocedures, Pertamina purchased gas from Corpus Christi Liquefaction\nLLC. However, the prosecutor stated, Pertamina did not have a permanent\nbuyer for LNG in the domestic market who would absorb or purchase LNG\nfrom the US company.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor stated that the LNG purchase was not accompanied by\neconomic analysis or final calculations. This situation resulted in LNG\noversupply.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhereas according to the interim risk assessment concerning the\nvolume of LNG imports to be purchased by Pertamina\u2019s Gas Directorate,\nthere should have been a gas sales agreement (GSA) before the LNG sales\nand purchase agreement (SPA) was signed so that the LNG could be\nabsorbed at 95 percent according to a statistical probability approach\nor 90 percent according to a conservative approach or 80 percent of the\nLNG SPA volume according to an aggressive approach, so as not to cause\nlosses to PT Pertamina,\u201d the prosecutor said.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor stated that Pertamina subsequently sold the surplus\nimported LNG to overseas buyers between 2019 and 2023. The prosecutor\nsaid the total cost of purchasing 18 cargoes of LNG from Corpus Christi\nLiquefaction incurred by Pertamina totalled USD 341,410,404, and\nPertamina sold it at a loss with a sales value of USD 248,784,764.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor stated Pertamina suffered losses from this trading\npractice valued at USD 92,625,640. The prosecutor also stated there were\nuncommitted cargoes, requiring Pertamina to pay suspension fees of USD\n10,045,980.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor stated the actions of the defendants have caused state\nlosses of USD 113,839,186. This amount is equivalent to Rp 1.9 trillion\nbased on current exchange rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cCausing harm to state finances at PT Pertamina (Persero) of USD\n113,839,186,\u201d the prosecutor said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ahok-reveals-lng-import-management-but-no-buyer-commitment-contracts-in-place-1772434891", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }