Sudirman Said Re-examined by Attorney General's Office in Petral Case

Former Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said has been questioned for the third time by investigators in the corruption case involving crude oil procurement at Pertamina Energy Trading Limited (Petral) for the 2015–2018 period. Based on observations by CNNIndonesia.com, Sudirman and his entourage arrived at the Attorney General’s Office’s Round Building wearing a green-toned batik shirt. Speaking to the media, he acknowledged being summoned for questioning regarding the crude oil procurement corruption case. “It is an invitation to provide information. It appears to still be related to the Petral matter,” he told reporters at the location. Sudirman’s appearance today marks his third in this case. He was previously questioned by investigators on Tuesday, 23 December, and Monday, 19 January. The Attorney General’s Office previously named seven suspects in the corruption case concerning crude oil procurement at Petral for the 2015–2018 period. Two of them are oil tycoon Mohammad Riza Chalid and IRW, a close associate of Riza Chalid who also serves as a director at Gold Manor, VeritaOil, and Global Energy Resources. The case began when officials at Petral leaked confidential internal company information regarding crude oil and gasoline requirements. This information was then exploited by Riza Chalid to influence the tender process for crude oil, refinery products, and shipping. As a result, the tender process and the estimated price information were manipulated. This manipulation led to inflated prices because the procurement process became uncompetitive. The collusion resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding between Petral and Riza Chalid’s companies to supply refinery products from 2012 to 2014. The actions of the suspects are believed to have prolonged the fuel supply chain, ultimately causing price increases for RON 88, or Premium, and RON 92, or Pertamax.