Defendant in LNG Corruption Case Denies Enriching Karen Agustiawan: No Bribes

Former Gas Director of PT Pertamina, Hari Karyuliarto, has requested acquittal from the charges and prosecution in the alleged corruption case concerning the procurement of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or natural gas. Hari denied enriching former Pertamina CEO Karen Galaila Agustiawan and the United States company, Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC (CCL).

“There was not a single flow of funds, bribe, kickback, or gratification to me, either to Karen Agustiawan or to Corpus Christi; they were not enriched unlawfully,” stated Hari Karyuliarto while reading his personal duplicate at the Central Jakarta Corruption Court, on Monday (27/4/2026).

Hari stated that he did not receive any fund flows related to this case. He alluded to the Supreme Court (MA) decision which stated that the amount of Rp1,091,280,281.81 and USD104,016.65 was legitimate income for Karen that had been taxed.

“The Supreme Court decision in the LNG case of Ms Karen Agustiawan, which has final legal force, states that Karen Agustiawan’s income of Rp1,091,280,281.81 and USD104,016.65 is legitimate income that has been taxed. The Public Prosecutor still includes the same figures in the indictment and rebuttal, and therefore this shows the Public Prosecutor’s defiance of the Supreme Court decision,” he said.

Hari stated that he had retired since 28 November 2014, or four months before the 2015 SPA was negotiated and signed by other officials. He mentioned that the losses in 2020-2021 occurred under force majeure conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Pertamina achieved cumulative profits of US$97.6 million as of December 2024 from the same contract. The Public Prosecutor’s main evidence in determining state losses, namely the BPK audit report, is formally flawed, illegal, and below standard,” he said.

Hari admitted to experiencing repeated travel bans for up to 2.5 years, and his residence was searched while he was still a witness. He considered what he experienced as criminalisation.

“This has caused me to lose my position and job at various companies, long before there was a court decision,” he said.

He stated that his punishment had begun since 2021. However, he considered that period to be before the detention time in July 2025 and before the court process began in December 2025.

“This pattern is not a normal legal process. This is engineered criminalisation of legitimate business decisions, as stated by expert Amien Sunaryadi, because law enforcement does not understand the business they are prosecuting,” said Hari.

“If strategic decisions that have been proven profitable for Pertamina are punished just because of administrative debates, whether Dekom’s permission that has been proven unnecessary is needed, then we are diminishing justice to administrative matters. This is not corruption law enforcement, this is criminalisation of administrative activities,” he added.

Hari said that the prosecutors failed to respond to the substance of his personal plea, using logical flaws, to failing to understand the LNG portfolio business concept. He requested to be acquitted and declared not guilty in this case.

“(I request the panel of judges) to state that I, Defendant I Hari Karyuliarto, have not been proven guilty and convincingly of committing the criminal act as charged by the Public Prosecutor. And may the honourable panel of judges be pleased to acquit me from all charges with a pure acquittal decision, or at the very least release me from all legal demands,” he said.

Furthermore, Hari considered this case not about administration or differences in business interpretation, but rather testing whether criminal law is used to seek justice. He requested the panel of judges to accept all his duplicate and reject the prosecutors’ rebuttal.

“And may the honourable panel of judges be pleased to restore and rehabilitate my good name, dignity, and honour,” he requested.

For information, in this case, Hari Karyuliarto is demanded 6.5 years in prison and a fine of Rp 200 million subsidiary 80 days of imprisonment. The prosecutors are convinced that Hari is guilty of violating Article 603 in conjunction with Article 20 letter c in conjunction with Article 126 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code as per the primary indictment.

“Impose a prison sentence on defendant I Hari Karyuliarto for 6 years and 6 months,” said the prosecutor while reading the indictment at the Central Jakarta Corruption Court, on Monday (13/4).