Kerry Riza's Legal Team Claims Prosecutors Are Forcing a Business Decision to Be Classified as a Corruption Crime

Kerry Riza’s Legal Team Claims Prosecutors Are Forcing a Business Decision to Be Classified as a Corruption Crime

• Special Report Jakarta, VIVA – The legal team representing Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza, the beneficial owner of PT Orbit Terminal Merak (OTM), submitted a rebuttal or response to the prosecutor’s reply during the hearing of the alleged corruption case involving the management of crude oil and refinery products at PT Pertamina (Persero) at the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court on Tuesday, 24 February 2026.

In their rebuttal, Kerry Riza’s legal team referred to the plea or defence note that had been presented in the previous hearing.

The legal team stated that the plea had revealed the facts of the trial regarding the lack of evidence of malicious intent, unlawful acts, and financial losses to the state committed by Kerry and the other defendants.

“This defence note has comprehensively presented the undeniable facts of the trial regarding the lack of evidence of malicious intent, unlawful acts, and financial losses to the state,” said Kerry’s lawyer, Heru Widodo.

Kerry’s team believes that the prosecutor’s reply only repeats emotional rhetoric about the dangers of corruption and compares it to genocide and terrorism.

The prosecutor also stated that the alleged corruption case involving the management of crude oil, which implicates Kerry and others, has caused financial losses to the state amounting to hundreds of trillions of rupiah. According to them, this rhetoric cannot be used as a basis for criminalising a business event.

“This rhetoric, although noble from a moral point of view, should not be used to criminalise people who are not corrupt. It is not permissible to prosecute a business event as a criminal offence,” Heru emphasised.

Heru stressed that the procurement of the lease of ships owned by PT Jenggala Maritim Nusantara (JMN) and the lease of fuel terminals owned by PT OTM by Pertamina was a business event that complied with the business judgement rule. However, he said, the prosecutor is forcing this business event to be classified as a corruption crime.

“The contract for the lease of JMN ships and the lease of the Merak fuel terminal is a business event in accordance with the business judgement rule, which is being forced to be classified as a criminal act of corruption, so the amount of financial loss to the state is very difficult to understand with common sense and cannot be calculated in a real and certain manner,” he said.

Heru then presented seven key points to refute the prosecutor’s arguments. First, regarding the allegation of collusion in the procurement of the lease of three JMN ships by Pertamina.