Commissioners out of Pertamina probe<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Following the suspension of Pertamina's financial director,
\nAlfred Rohimone, two members of the state oil and gas firm's
\nboard of commissioners will be required to take no part in the
\ninvestigation into alleged collusion in the sale of two of the
\ncompany's tankers.<\/p>\n
State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto told reporters
\non Monday that he had also asked other commissioners -- who
\napproved the tanker sales last year and who are still in office
\n-- to refrain from taking part in the board's ongoing
\ninvestigation into the case.<\/p>\n
\"I've asked two commissioners to abstain from voting in the
\nmaking of decisions by the board of commissioners on the case,\"
\nhe said, referring to Roes Ariawijaya and Iin Arifin Takhyan.<\/p>\n
\"This is to ensure a fair, objective and independent probe of
\nthe case by the board.\"<\/p>\n
Roes is an expert advisor at the Office of the State Minister
\nfor State Enterprises while Iin is the Ministry of Energy and
\nMineral Resource's Director General of Oil and Gas.<\/p>\n
The government asked Pertamina's board of commissioners to
\ninvestigate the case following a ruling from the Business
\nCompetition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) that Pertamina and
\nthree of its three business partners colluded in the sale of two
\nVery Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) worth US$184 million last year.<\/p>\n
As the market price of each tanker was between $120 million
\nand US$150 million, the sales caused the state to lose at least
\n$50 million.<\/p>\n
The KPPU ordered the Pertamina boards of directors and
\ncommissioners to report their wrongdoings to the shareholders
\nmeeting and suspend Alfred.<\/p>\n
It also ordered the three Pertamina partners -- Singapore-
\nbased financial advisor Goldman Sachs, Indonesian shipping firm
\nPT Equinox, and the tender winner, Bermuda-based shipping firm
\nFrontline Ltd -- to pay a total of $61.27 billion in fines to the
\nstate and Rp 180 billion ($19.4 million) in penalties.<\/p>\n
Sugiharto said the government would continue its investigation
\nbut would wait for a Pertamina shareholders' meeting to review
\nthe board of directors' performance before making a decision on
\nwhether to replace any of the directors.<\/p>\n
\"If any of them are shown to be guilty in the case, they will
\nbe replaced immediately,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Legal prosecutions of the former members of the board of
\ndirectors and commissioners will also be brought although we will
\nwait for the full results of the investigation and respect the
\npresumption of innocence.\"<\/p>\n
Sugiharto denied allegations that the tanker sale case was in
\nany way politically motivated.<\/p>\n
\"I took an oath upon taking over this office that I would not
\ntake sides -- apart from the state's -- in deciding on any
\naffair,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Separately, the former president director of Pertamina, Ariffi
\nNawawi, defended his decision to sell the tankers, saying it had
\nbeen made for the sake of the company.<\/p>\n
\"We made the sales based on the highest bids and most credible
\nbuyer. Not one cent of the proceeds of the sales went into our
\npockets,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ariffi underlined that it was the board of directors's
\ncollective decision to sell the tankers and go through the
\nprocedures. \"It was a pure business decision and all the
\nprocedures were within the board's knowledge.\"<\/p>\n
Ariffi, Pertamina's former Director of General Affairs and
\nHuman Resources Eteng Asalam and former Director of Upstream
\nAffairs Bambang Nugroho met on Monday to discuss the issue. They
\nclaimed it was their first meeting since being dismissed last
\nyear by then State Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana
\nSukardi.<\/p>\n
However, they refused to comment on Alfred's suspension and
\nLaksamana's role as the former Pertamina chief commissioners.<\/p>\n
\"We are certain that Pertamina will adopt a stance on the
\nKPPU's decision,\" Ariffi said.<\/p>\n
Pertamina President Director Widya Purnama said he had only
\nlearned of Alfred's suspension from the newspapers.<\/p>\n
\"We did not know about the decision, but we are prepared to
\nappoint one of the other directors or myself to take over the
\nposition,\" he said during a hearing with the House of
\nRepresentative's Commission VI on trade, investment and state-
\nowned enterprises.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/commissioners-out-of-pertamina-probe-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}