Prosecutors Hail Kerry Appeal Verdict as Aligned with State Loss Recovery Efforts

Prosecutors have welcomed the Jakarta High Court’s appeal ruling, which they believe accommodates the essence of their demands, particularly regarding the recovery of state economic losses in the alleged corruption case involving the fulfilment of coal supply obligations for PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) (Persero) by PT Bukit Asam (PTBA) Tbk, with Muhamad Kerry Adrianto Riza as the defendant. Public Prosecutor Pardede stated this after the appellate panel of judges increased Kerry’s sentence to 15 years in prison and ordered him to pay restitution for state financial losses and state economic losses totalling Rp13.4 trillion. ‘We have received the excerpt of the appeal ruling from the Jakarta High Court regarding defendant Muhamad Kerry Adrianto Riza. In principle, we see that the appellate judges share the same vision in eradicating corruption, particularly in recovering the state economic losses, which were massive in this case,’ he said on Thursday, 10 June 2026. In its ruling, the Jakarta High Court judges accepted the appeals filed by both the public prosecutor and the defendant. The judges then amended the ruling of the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court, specifically regarding the length of the prison sentence and the amount of restitution the defendant must pay. The panel of judges declared Kerry legally and convincingly proven guilty of committing a criminal act of corruption as stipulated in the primary indictment. In addition to being sentenced to 15 years in prison, with the provision that time already spent in detention is fully deducted from the sentence, Kerry was also fined Rp500 million. If the fine is not paid, it will be replaced by 190 days of confinement. The most prominent point in the appeal ruling is the additional penalty of paying restitution. The judges ordered Kerry to pay restitution for state financial losses amounting to Rp2,905,420,003,854, or approximately Rp2.9 trillion. Furthermore, the panel of judges also imposed an obligation to remedy the impact of state economic damage amounting to Rp10,500,000,000,000, or Rp10.5 trillion. Thus, the total obligation the defendant must fulfil reaches Rp13.4 trillion. ‘If the defendant does not pay the restitution within one month after the court ruling has obtained permanent legal force, then the defendant’s assets may be seized by the prosecutor and auctioned off to pay the restitution,’ the ruling stated.