Former Pertamina Director: LNG Procurement Does Not Require Commissioners' Approval or Shareholders' Meeting
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Pertamina (Persero) Gas Director for the period 2012-2014, Hari Karyuliarto, stated that LNG procurement at Pertamina does not require a General Meeting of Shareholders (RUPS) or approval from the board of commissioners.
He mentioned that this has been explained in court by Pertamina’s Chief Legal Counsel for the period 2011–2015, Alan Frederick.
“Alan reinforced that memo. He did not deny that memo as the result of Pertamina’s legal function, namely the memo stating that the process of signing the Corpus Christi contract did not require approval from the board of commissioners and RUPS,” said Hari when met after the reading of the replication hearing at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court, on Thursday.
Therefore, said Hari, that legal memo served as the reference when his side signed the LNG procurement contract around 2013.
Thus, if it is now questioned, he considers it unreasonable because it has been 12 years since then.
“There is a lot of misunderstanding in the public prosecutor’s replication,” he said.
He views it as ironic if there are parties outside Pertamina who state that LNG procurement requires commissioners’ approval.
Moreover, continued Hari, after that, many procurement contracts were signed without commissioners’ approval.
In fact, he claimed there were various LNG procurements, besides with Corpus Christi, that incurred losses during the COVID-19 period.
“The most important thing is that the contract with Corpus Christi did not cause any loss to the state. Even if there was a loss of $113 million during COVID-19, but after that in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024 they profited $210 million from that procurement,” revealed Hari.
Previously, Hari was sentenced to six years and six months in prison in the alleged corruption case of LNG procurement from Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC (CCL) at Pertamina and related institutions from 2011-2021.
In addition to Hari, there was also Vice President of Strategic Planning Business Development of Pertamina’s Gas Directorate for the period 2012-2013, Yenni Andayani, who was sentenced to five years and six months in prison in the same case.
In addition to corporal punishment, Hari and Yenni were also demanded to be fined Rp200 million each, with the provision that if not paid, it would be replaced (subsidiar) with imprisonment for 80 days.
In that case, the two defendants are alleged to have harmed state finances by $113.84 million or equivalent to Rp1.77 trillion.
The state loss is alleged to have occurred due to unlawful acts that enriched Pertamina’s President Director for the period 2009-2014, Galaila Karen Kardinah alias Karen Agustiawan, by Rp1.09 billion and $104,016, as well as enriching CCL by $113.84 million.
The unlawful acts committed by the two defendants, namely Hari is alleged to have failed to prepare guidelines for the LNG procurement process from international sources and still processed LNG procurement from Cheniere Energy Inc.
Meanwhile, Yenni proposed to Hari to sign the Circular Board of Directors Meeting Minutes regarding the decision on signing the LNG Train 1 and Train 2 sales and purchase agreement from CCL without supported economic studies, risk studies and mitigation in the CCL LNG procurement process, as well as without a CCL LNG buyer bound by an agreement.
Thus, the acts of the two defendants are regulated and threatened with criminal penalties under Article 2 paragraph (1) or Article 3 of Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended and supplemented by Law No. 20 of 2001 juncto Article 55 paragraph (1) first jo. Article 64 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code.