Three Defendants in Judicial Bribery Case Over Cooking Oil Verdict Lodge Appeal
Three defendants convicted in a judicial bribery case related to a cooking oil (migor) verdict acquittal—Marcella Santoso, Ariyanto Bakri, and M Syafei—have filed appeals against their convictions. They are challenging sentences of between 6 and 16 years imprisonment handed down by the judges.
“Cases 106 (Marcella Santoso), 107 (Ariyanto Bakri), and 109 (M Syafei), the defendants have already filed appeals,” said Sunoto, spokesperson for the Central Jakarta District Court, to journalists on Tuesday (9 March 2026).
Prosecutors previously charged Marcella, Ariyanto, and Syafei with jointly committing bribery related to a not guilty verdict on cooking oil alongside Junaedi Saibih. However, the judges found Junaedi not guilty and acquitted him in the bribery case.
The judges also acquitted M Syafei of money laundering charges (TPPU). The judges determined that Marcella and Ariyanto were the defendants proven to have committed money laundering.
The judges stated the total bribery amount for securing the cooking oil case acquittal was USD 4 million, equivalent to approximately Rp 60 billion at the exchange rate when the bribes were paid. The judges noted that Marcella and Ariyanto took and benefited from USD 2 million of the bribe money for personal use.
The remaining USD 2 million was distributed to judges Djuyamto, Agam Syarief Baharuddin, and Ali Muhtarom to hand down not guilty verdicts to the corporate defendants—Wilmar Group, Musim Mas Group, and Permata Hijau Group. Djuyamto, Agam, and Ali have been found guilty and sentenced in separate proceedings.
The following are the complete sentences for Marcella, Ariyanto, and M Syafei as announced by the panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court hearing on Tuesday (3 March):
Marcella Santoso: 14 years imprisonment, fine of Rp 600 million with alternative of 150 days detention, and asset restitution of Rp 16.25 billion (16.25 billion) with alternative of 6 years imprisonment.
Ariyanto Bakri: 16 years imprisonment, fine of Rp 600 million with alternative of 150 days detention, and asset restitution of Rp 16.25 billion with alternative of 6 years imprisonment.
M Syafei: 6 years imprisonment and fine of Rp 300 million with alternative of 100 days detention.