Prosecutor's Office Notes Before Deciding on Appeal Against Kerry Riza Verdict

JAKARTA — The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has noted several matters that will be studied before deciding whether to appeal the verdict handed down against nine defendants in a corruption case involving crude oil and refinery product management at state-owned enterprise PT Pertamina Persero.

These notes range from the state’s economic losses not being considered by the judge to the sentence being below what the prosecution had requested.

“All of this will be considered when we determine whether to pursue an appeal or not. We will examine it as soon as possible,” said AGO prosecutor Zulkipli whilst giving a statement after the hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Friday (27 February 2026).

“There is a difference of opinion regarding state economic losses. This is also a difference in perspective that, according to us, still believes that the impact arising from this deviation includes state economic losses, as we have stated in the prosecution’s indictment,” Zulkipli explained.

Additionally, the AGO also noted the removal of replacement money penalties for several defendants, particularly those who are state enterprise employees.

In its prosecution, the AGO requested that the judicial panel impose replacement money penalties worth Rp 5 billion for those who are state enterprise employees.

However, the judicial panel disagreed with the prosecution and did not impose replacement money penalties.

“There were some defendants who were initially prosecuted with replacement money penalties but then it was removed. However, this is a difference of opinion. We will study the entire verdict and examine it to determine the next legal steps,” Zulkipli said.

Not only the differences became the AGO’s focus. There were several considerations and judicial decisions that became supporting points for the AGO to continue the examination of other defendants whose cases are still ongoing in separate proceedings.

These first nine defendants were convicted according to the AGO’s primary charge. The judicial panel also believed there was deviation committed by the defendants.

“This verdict is very important for the handling of subsequent cases because there are still several defendants with ongoing cases, and there are also some still in the investigation stage,” he said.

Although one judge, Mulyono, stated a dissenting opinion, the AGO noted that business decisions cannot be viewed purely as a business framework.

Business processes must be viewed comprehensively to determine whether there is any manipulation.