New Chapter in 2022 POME Export Case, 11 Suspects Dragged to Court

The scandal involving the export of crude palm oil disguised as Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) throughout the 2022 to 2024 period has entered a crucial stage. The Attorney General’s Office has finally handed over 11 suspects along with evidence to the public prosecutor to be brought to trial immediately. Acting Head of the Attorney General’s Legal Information Centre, Mochamad Jeffry, stated that the second-stage handover was carried out by investigators from the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes to the East Jakarta District Prosecutor’s Office. ‘The Investigation Team at the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes has handed over the suspects and evidence to the Public Prosecutor Team at the East Jakarta District Prosecutor’s Office,’ he said on Tuesday, 9 June 2026. The handover was made after investigators completed a lengthy series of inquiries. To uncover the case, the Attorney General’s Office examined hundreds of witnesses from various parties, with 242 witnesses and five experts questioned to strengthen the construction of the case to be brought to court. Previously reported, the scandal of alleged palm oil export manipulation has again implicated prominent names. The Attorney General’s Office named 11 individuals as suspects in the case of crude palm oil exports disguised as POME during the 2022 to 2024 period. The dozen suspects came from various lines, ranging from officials of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise and the Ministry of Industry to directors of private companies. They are suspected of being involved in the manipulation of harmonised system codes to avoid payment of export levies. One of the suspects named is FJR, former Technical Director of Customs at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, who now serves as Head of the DJBC Office for Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara. In addition, investigators also charged LHB, who serves as Head of Sub-directorate for Non-Food Plantation Industry, and a Functional Policy Analyst and Senior Industry Advisor at the Directorate of Forest Product Industries, Ministry of Industry.