Former Pertamina Director Seeks Acquittal in LNG Corruption Case
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Hari Karyuliarto, Director of Gas at PT Pertamina (Persero) from 2012-2014, requested to be acquitted from the liquefied natural gas (LNG) corruption case while delivering his duplicate plea at the trial in the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court on Monday.
According to him, the case implicating him is a fabrication of criminalisation due to failures in addressing the substance, logical flaws, and a lack of understanding of the LNG portfolio business in his case.
“I request that the panel of judges declare that I have not been legally and convincingly proven guilty of committing the criminal act as charged by the public prosecutor,” Hari stated.
In previous hearings, he said, there were several irrefutable facts regarding himself, namely that there was not a single flow of funds, bribe, kickback, or gratification to him.
He continued that another fact is that both Karen Agustiawan and Corpus Christi were not unlawfully enriched, and Hari had retired since 28 November 2014, four months before the 2015 Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) was negotiated and signed by other officials.
On the other hand, he assessed that Pertamina had achieved cumulative profits of US$97.6 million by December 2024 from the same contract.
“The main evidence used by the public prosecutor to determine state losses, namely the BPK Audit Report, is procedurally flawed or illegal and below standards,” he said.
Previously, Hari was sentenced to six years and six months in prison in the alleged corruption case of procuring LNG from Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC (CCL) at Pertamina and related institutions from 2011-2021.
In addition to Hari, Yenni Andayani, Vice President of Strategic Planning and Business Development in Pertamina’s Gas Directorate from 2012-2013, was also sentenced to five years and six months in prison in the same case.
In that case, both defendants are alleged to have caused state financial losses of US$113.84 million or equivalent to Rp1.77 trillion.
The state losses are alleged to have occurred due to unlawful acts that enriched Pertamina’s President Director from 2009-2014, Galaila Karen Kardinah alias Karen Agustiawan, by Rp1.09 billion and US$104,016, as well as enriching CCL by US$113.84 million.
The unlawful acts committed by both defendants, namely Hari is alleged to have failed to prepare guidelines for the LNG procurement process from international sources and still proceeded with the LNG procurement from Cheniere Energy Inc.
Meanwhile, Yenni proposed to Hari to sign the Circular Board Meeting Minutes regarding the decision on signing the LNG Train 1 and Train 2 sales and purchase agreement from CCL without supporting economic studies, risk assessments and mitigations in the CCL LNG procurement process, and without a CCL LNG buyer bound by an agreement.
Thus, the acts of both defendants are regulated and punishable 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 in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) first of jo. Article 64 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code.