Riva Siahaan Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison for Corruption in Oil Case
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Riva Siahaan, former Director of PT Pertamina Patra Niaga in 2023, has been sentenced to nine years in prison after being found guilty of corruption in the case of crude oil and refinery product management during the period 2018–2023.
The presiding judge, Fajar Kusuma Aji, stated that Riva was proven guilty of participating in the act of corruption in the case, as stipulated in the primary indictment.
“In addition to imprisonment, the defendant was also sentenced to a fine of IDR 1 billion or 190 days of imprisonment,” said the presiding judge during the reading of the verdict at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court, Thursday.
The presiding judge mentioned that the act of corruption committed by Riva involved enriching himself, other people, or a corporation, which caused state losses of IDR 9.42 trillion.
Before handing down the verdict, the panel of judges considered several aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The aggravating circumstance was that Riva’s actions did not support the government’s ongoing efforts to combat corruption.
Meanwhile, the mitigating circumstances considered by the panel of judges included Riva’s polite behavior in court, his lack of prior convictions, and his family responsibilities.
In the same trial, verdicts were also read for Maya Kusuma, former Director of Marketing and Trading at PT Pertamina Patra Niaga in 2023, and Edward Corne, Vice President of Trading Products at Pertamina Patra Niaga for the period 2023-2025.
Maya was sentenced to nine years in prison, while Edward was sentenced to ten years in prison. Both were also sentenced to a fine of IDR 1 billion or 190 days of imprisonment.
For their actions, all three defendants were found guilty of violating Article 2 paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Corruption Crimes, as amended and supplemented by Law Number 20 of 2001 in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code.
The sentences handed down by the panel of judges were lighter than the prosecutor’s demands. Previously, Riva, Maya, and Edward were each charged with a prison sentence of 14 years, a fine of IDR 1 billion or 190 days of imprisonment, and compensation of IDR 5 billion or 7 years of imprisonment.
In the case, Riva, who at that time served as Director of Marketing and Trading at Pertamina Patra Niaga for the period 2021-2023, was suspected of, among other things, approving Maya’s proposal regarding the results of a special auction for gasoline with an octane level or Research Octane Number (RON) of 90 and 92 in the first half of 2023, related to the procurement of imported refinery products or fuel oil.
The proposal included appointing BP Singapore and Sinochem International Oil as prospective tender winners after they were given special treatment in the auction process by Edward by leaking alpha information or confidential procurement information to the two companies.
Meanwhile, Edward was charged with giving special treatment to BP Singapore in the procurement of RON 90 and RON 92 gasoline in the first half by providing information related to confidential procurement to BP Singapore and Sinochem International Oil.
It was mentioned that Edward also gave additional time for bidding to BP Singapore even though it was past the deadline for submitting bids, and to Sinochem International Oil, so that both companies could win the tender.