Former Customs Director General Askolani Questioned Over POME Export Manipulation Case
The Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) has begun investigating the involvement of high-ranking officials in a case involving the export of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) disguised as Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) during the 2022–2024 period. The former Director General of Customs and Excise, Askolani, has been summoned and questioned by investigators as a witness in the case, as confirmed by the Head of the Attorney General’s Office Legal Information Centre, Anang Supriatna.
The investigation team is examining Askolani to understand the regulations and export mechanisms in place during his tenure as the head of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise. This marks the first time Askolani has been questioned since the Attorney General’s Office began investigating the alleged corruption regarding palm oil waste exports. Investigators are reportedly scrutinising the rules and procedures implemented during his term of office.
Previously, it was reported that the scandal involving the alleged manipulation of palm oil exports has implicated several prominent figures. The Attorney General’s Office has named 11 suspects in the case involving the misclassification of CPO as POME between 2022 and 2024. The suspects represent various sectors, including officials from the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, the Ministry of Industry, and directors of private companies. They are alleged to have been involved in manipulating Harmonised System (HS) codes to avoid export levy obligations.
Among the suspects is FJR, the former Technical Director of Customs at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, who currently serves as the Head of the Customs Office for Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara. Additionally, investigators have charged LHB, a Sub-Director of Non-Food Plantation Product Industry and a Senior Policy Analyst at the Ministry of Industry’s Directorate of Forest Product Industry. The Director of Investigation for the Attorney General’s Junior Vice for Special Crimes (Jampidsus), Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, emphasised that the suspects were named after investigators secured sufficient evidence.