Judge says Marcella Santoso and Ary Bakri are case brokers, tainting the legal profession

JAKARTA — A panel of judges has found that the actions of lawyers Marcella Santoso and Ariyanto alias Ary Bakri in the case of bribery of a judge who handed down acquittals for three crude palm oil (CPO) corporations and the crime of money laundering (TPPU) have tainted the legal profession. In the case, Marcella and Ariyanto allegedly engaged in ‘case brokerage’ practices to benefit their clients, namely the three CPO corporations that were ultimately acquitted by the judges. ‘The defendants were not professional advocates, but rather engaged in several irregularities by committing acts of wrongdoing as revealed in court, namely engaging in case trading or case brokerage,’ said Judge Andi Saputra during the verdict reading at the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court on Tuesday, 3 March 2026. Andi said their actions could erode public trust in the judiciary, the judges and the wider judicial apparatus. In this case, Marcella and Ary benefited their client, a foreign party, Wilmar Group based in Singapore. Consequently, these actions cast a poor impression on the image of Indonesia’s judiciary in the eyes of the world. However, the panel could not revoke the defendants’ professional licences as this lies outside the court’s remit. ‘The panel does not agree with the prosecutors’ demand to revoke the defendants’ lawyer licences because revocation of a lawyer’s licence is outside the court’s authority, but it is the prerogative of the bar association,’ he added. In this case, Marcella was sentenced to 14 years in prison with a Rp 600 million fine, subsiding 150 days, while Ariyanto was sentenced to 16 years with a Rp 600 million fine, subsiding 150 days. Marcella and Ariyanto were also ordered to pay restitution of Rp 16.2 billion, with a six-year subsidiary sentence. The restitution amount derives from USD 1 million believed to be the gains obtained by Marcella in the case. Marcella and Ariyanto were also found to have laundered money by disguising the flow of criminal funds they received. Marcella and Ariyanto paid bribes to five members of the judiciary — namely former South Jakarta District Court chief Muhammad Arif Nuryanta, former Civil Affairs Clerk Wahyu Gunawan of PN Jakarta Utara, and the three judges who presided over the CPO case: Djuyamto, Agam Syarif Baharuddin, and Ali Muhtarom. The five judiciary members have already been sentenced in separate files. Originally, Ariyanto was to receive USD 4 million from the corporations, equivalent to about Rp 52 billion, but he took USD 2 million from the bribe money to stash and enjoy with Marcella Santoso.