Attorney General's Office Searches Home and Office of Ombudsman Commissioner in Connection with CPO Export Obstruction Case

The Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) continues its investigation into an obstruction of justice case related to the handling of corruption in the granting of crude palm oil (CPO) export licences. On Monday, 9 March 2026, prosecutors from the Special Crimes Division of the Attorney General’s Office (Jampidsus) conducted searches at the home and office of an Ombudsman commissioner.

“The search was carried out at the home and office of one of the commissioners. The individual is charged under Article 21 for obstructing investigation in the cooking oil case that resulted in an acquittal (onslag),” said Anang Supriatna, Head of the Attorney General’s Information and Legal Affairs Centre, at the Attorney General’s Office in Jakarta on Monday, 9 March 2026.

The acquittal referred to by Anang concerns the verdict issued by the Jakarta Corruption Court (PN Tipikor) against three CPO corporations named as defendants: Musim Mas Group, Permata Hijau Group, and Wilmar Group. These three companies were prosecuted for corruption in granting CPO export permits during the 2022-2023 period, with prosecutors seeking trillions of rupiah in damages.

Prosecutors sought damages of Rp 11.88 trillion from Wilmar Group, Rp 4.89 trillion from Musim Mas Group, and Rp 935.5 billion from Permata Hijau Group. However, in February 2025, the Corruption Court judges issued acquittals for all three corporate defendants, disregarding the prosecution’s demands.

The acquittal by the judges panel was subsequently revealed to have been based on bribery. Three judges who acquitted the defendants were found to have received a total of Rp 60 billion in bribes: Judges Agam Syarif Baharuddin, Ali Muhtarom, and Djuyamto. Muhammad Arif Nuryanta, Deputy Head of the Corruption Court, was identified as the initiator of the bribery scheme, whilst Wahyu Gunawan, a court clerk, was also implicated.

The judges and court officials were prosecuted and convicted, receiving prison sentences of over a decade. The bribe-givers, including lawyers representing the CPO corporations such as Ariyanto Bakrie and Marcela Santoso, were similarly sentenced to over a decade of imprisonment. During the follow-up investigation, prosecutors have uncovered evidence of obstruction of justice in the CPO case that led to the acquittals.