Over a decade in prison for Marcella Santoso and Ary Gadun FM, the case broker

JAKARTA — The Jakarta Corruption Court convicted two lawyers, Marcella Santoso and Ariyanto (also known as Ary Bakri Gadun FM), of bribing judges and court officials to influence handling of corruption cases relating to crude palm oil (CPO) exports that implicated the Wilmar Group, Permata Hijau Group, and Musim Mas Group, and of money laundering. “Mengadili, menjatuhkan pidana kepada terdakwa Marcella Santoso dengan pidana 14 tahun penjara dan denda Rp 600 juta subsider 150 hari penjara,” said Chief Judge Efendi as he read the verdict in the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court session, on Tuesday (3/3/2026). Meanwhile, Ariyanto alias Ary Bakri Gadun FM was sentenced to 16 years in prison with a fine of Rp 600 million, subsiding 150 days in prison. Ary and Marcella were also ordered to pay restitution of Rp 16.2 billion or USD 1 million, with a substitute of 6 years’ imprisonment. The panel said that Marcella and Ariyanto were proven to have bribed a judge and court officials to influence the handling of the CPO export corruption cases involving the three groups. The bribed officials include the former Head of the South Jakarta District Court, Muhammad Arif Nuryanta; the former Civil Registrar Wahyu Gunawan; and three judges who ruled on the CPO cases: Djuyamto, Agam Syarif Baharuddin, and Ali Muhtarom. The bribe was allegedly provided by Wilmar Group, which offered USD 4 million to Ariyanto to be handed to the court. The panel disclosed that USD 2 million, equivalent to Rp 32 billion, provided by Wilmar Group, was then distributed to court officials, while the remainder was enjoyed by Ary and Marcella. “Menimbang bahwa terkait uang sejumlah 2 juta dollar AS yang diambil Ariyanto, setengah uang suap dari Wilmar Group, Permata Hijau Group, dan Musim Mas Group, kemudian dipakai untuk sejumlah keperluan pribadi Ariyanto dan Marcella Santoso,” said the judge. The USD 2 million is believed to have been used to buy a number of vehicles now ordered to be seized for the state. “Menimbang bahwa oleh karena itu, 5 unit mobil dan 1 kapal di atas sudah sepantasnya dirampas untuk negara,” said Judge Andi Saputra. The assets were bought and held in a shell company.