Attorney General Identifies Ombudsman Member YH Whose Home Was Searched in Crude Palm Oil Export Case

Jakarta—Prosecutors from Indonesia’s Attorney General’s office have revealed the initials of an Ombudsman member whose residence was searched on Monday, 9 March 2026, in connection with a crude palm oil export case.

“The initials are YH,” stated Anang Supriatna, Head of the Attorney General’s Legal Information Centre, to journalists on Monday.

In addition to the Ombudsman commissioner’s residence, investigators also conducted searches at the Ombudsman’s office.

Supriatna confirmed the searches had taken place. He stated that investigators were examining allegations of violating Article 21, which concerns obstruction of investigation and prosecution in cases that were previously acquitted or discharged by court.

“He faces Article 21 charges for obstructing the investigation and prosecution of the cooking oil case from before, which resulted in an acquittal,” he explained.

According to Supriatna, investigators are also tracing links to Ombudsman recommendations that are allegedly being used as the basis for lawsuits filed at the state administrative court. He added that the search process was still ongoing as of Monday afternoon.

“It is still ongoing,” Supriatna said.

The case being investigated relates to the provision of crude palm oil export facilities involving three major corporations: Permata Hijau Group, Wilmar Group, and Musim Mas Group.

In this matter, several parties have been charged with offering bribes to judges to secure acquittal verdicts. One of the defendants is lawyer Marcella Santoso. The bribes provided totalled USD 2.5 million, approximately 40 billion rupiah.

These funds are alleged to have been distributed to various individuals within the judicial system to persuade the judicial panel to acquit the three corporations involved in the crude palm oil export case. Besides Marcella, other individuals allegedly involved in this matter include advocates Junaedi Saibih and Ariyanto Bakri, as well as Muhammad Syafei from Wilmar company.