Former Director General of Customs Askolani Questioned by the Attorney General's Office

JAKARTA — The Attorney General’s Office (Kejaksaan Agung) is interrogating former Director General of Customs Askolani as a witness in a case of alleged corruption regarding the export of palm oil mill effluent (POME) or palm oil processing waste for the 2022-2024 period. The examination was conducted to deepen understanding of the policies and regulations related to the export trade of POME during his tenure as Director General of Customs. ‘Indeed, yesterday, regarding the POME matter in question, he was questioned in his capacity as Director General at the time,’ said Anang Supriatna, the spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office’s Public Information Centre, on Thursday (21 May 2026). During the examination, investigators sought to elicit information about POME export policies and a number of supporting documents requested from Askolani. The Attorney General’s Office also confirmed that additional documents were requested by investigators to complete the investigation. ‘There were documents that have been completed,’ he said. Regarding the possibility of further questioning of Askolani, the Attorney General’s Office said it would depend on the results of the investigators’ inquiries and its relation to the statements of other witnesses. ‘If necessary, he could be summoned again,’ he said. Additionally, mention was made of documents previously seized during searches in Batam and Mataram. ‘Those materials will be handed over to investigators later. We’ll just wait,’ he said.