Attorney General's Office Reveals Reasons for Appeal in Crude Oil Custody Convictions Case

Jakarta – Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) has revealed its reasons for appealing the verdicts against nine defendants in a corruption case involving the mismanagement of crude oil and refinery product governance for the period 2018–2023.

“We filed the appeal because there are several points that the state prosecutors felt were not accommodated or considered adequately,” said Anang Supriatna, Head of the Legal Information Centre at the Attorney General’s Office, during a press conference at the Kejagung building in Jakarta on Monday.

He cited several key issues, including claims regarding state economic losses and compensatory fines that were not imposed on certain defendants. Additionally, the prosecution noted that sentences imposed were lighter than those originally requested, and these matters have been included in the appeal memorandum.

The Attorney General’s Office filed its appeal on Friday (27 February), one day after verdicts were delivered on Thursday (26 February). The trials lasted from Thursday evening (16.00 WIB) through Friday morning (04.00 WIB), during which the Corruption Court judges at the Central Jakarta District Court issued verdicts against the nine defendants.

In the first hearing cluster on Thursday evening (16.00 WIB), verdicts were delivered against Riva Siahaan, Director-General of PT Pertamina Patra Niaga in 2023; Maya Kusuma, Director of Central Marketing and Commerce at PT Pertamina Patra Niaga in 2023; and Edward Corne, Vice President of Trading Products at Pertamina Patra Niaga (2023–2025). Riva and Maya each received 9-year prison sentences, while Edward received 10 years. All three were also fined Rp1 billion, with an alternative of 190 days’ additional imprisonment.

In the second hearing cluster, which commenced Thursday evening (21.00 WIB), verdicts were announced for Yoki Firnandi, Director-General of PT Pertamina International Shipping (2022–2024); Agus Purwono, Vice President of Feedstock Management at PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional (2023–2024); and Sani Dinar Saifudin, Director of Feedstock and Product Optimisation at PT KPI (2022–2025). Yoki and Sani each received 9-year sentences, while Agus received 10 years. Each was also fined Rp1 billion with an alternative of 190 days’ additional imprisonment.

In the third hearing cluster, which commenced Friday morning (02.00 WIB), verdicts were delivered against Muhammad Kerry Andrianto Riza, beneficial owner of PT Navigator Khatulistiwa; Gading Ramadhan Juedo, Commissioner of PT Pelayaran Mahameru Kencana Abadi (PMKA); and Dimas Werhaspati, Commissioner of PT Jenggala Maritim Nusantara (JMN). Kerry received a 15-year prison sentence, whilst Gading and Dimas each received 14-year sentences. All three were fined Rp1 billion with an alternative of 190 days’ additional imprisonment.

Kerry faced an additional penalty comprising restitution of Rp2.9 trillion, with an alternative of 5 years’ additional imprisonment.