Three Former PIS-KPI Officials Appeal After 9–10-Year Prison Sentence

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — The defence team for three defendants in the case of crude oil and refinery product governance corruption at PT Pertamina (Persero), its Subholding, and the Contractor Cooperation Contract (KKKS) for 2018–2023, has formally filed an appeal on Thursday (5 March 2026).

The legal counsel for the three defendants in the cluster of PT Pertamina International Shipping (PIS) and PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI), Dion Pongkor, said they were filing the appeal because their clients did not receive bribes and did not obtain personal gains.

He represents the three defendants: Yoki Firnandi as Chief Executive Officer of PT PIS, Sani Dinar Syaifudin as Director of Feedstock at KPI, and Agus Purwono as VP of Feedstock at KPI.

“We are filing an appeal for the three defendants, Mr Yoki Firnandi as Dirut of PIS, Sani Dinar Saifuddin as Director of Feedstock at KPI, and Agus Purwono as VP Feedstock at KPI,” he said as he submitted the appeal documents to the Jakarta Corruption Court on Thursday (5/3/2026).

“Why are we filing an appeal? Because, in our view, this case is interesting — a corruption case that is rarely seen. Our three clients did not receive bribes, they did not receive personal gains. This was acknowledged by the prosecutors in the charges and also by the judges in the verdict,” he explained.

“They were not affiliated with the persons whom the prosecutors claimed benefited. So where was the mens rea? How could someone in a corruption offence be found to have caused losses to the state when they did not receive personal gains?” he said.

“And we have studied the content of the decision; there is nothing in it that indicates mens rea, which is why they were convicted. Moreover, the verdict is framed as causing state losses. In our view, this decision requires correction,” he stated.

“This will also serve as a future teaching point in corruption cases — the mens rea must be clear. We do not see mens rea here,” he stressed.

He then explained that during his tenure as PIS CEO, Yoki Firnandi had brought benefits to the company, increasing the financial results from Rp 1.9 trillion to Rp 9.1 trillion.

“If a person commits corruption, it would be impossible to generate that much profit,” he said.

“So much of the courtroom logic, in our view, contradicts justice and truth. Moreover, upon reviewing the considerations of the ruling, much of it simply followed the prosecution’s demands. Those demands were, in truth, the prosecutors’ subjective view, not binding the facts of the case,” he added.

“Therefore, we will fight at the appellate level to have this decision corrected, in line with the dissenting opinion of ad hoc judge Mulyono Dwi Purwanto. That dissenting opinion truly understands the complexities of the oil business, and it is based on the facts of the case,” he stated.

“So we hope the higher court will pay close attention to the facts. We came to the courtroom to seek justice. We are prepared to stay in court until 2am to pursue justice. Let this courtroom not be merely a formality or a stamp. It is the people’s court, the nation’s hope. Please return to the facts of the case,” he added.

“And finally, in this trial there is clearly no loss; in the Pertamina case there is only gains. There is only gain, no mens rea, no enrichment, no affiliation. Where is the corruption?” he said.

“Therefore, we will fight to ensure this is corrected, because we believe this country is a rule-of-law state. There must be no embellishments that ride on it,” he concluded.

As is known, the Panel of Judges of the Jakarta Pusat Anti-Corruption Court had on Friday (27 February 2026) early morning handed down verdicts against former PIS CEO Yoki Firnandi and two KPI officials, Sani Dinar Saifuddin and Agus Purwono, finding them guilty of corruption in the oil governance case.

Chief Judge Fajar Kusuma Aji said: “Sentencing Yoki to 9 years in prison,” as he read the verdict at the Tipikor Court in Central Jakarta. The judge also ordered Yoki to pay a Rp 1 billion fine, with a substitute 190 days in jail if unpaid.

The judge also imposed a 9-year sentence on former KPI Director of Feedstock and Product Optimisation Sani Dinar Saifuddin.

Meanwhile, for KPI’s VP of Feedstock Management Agus Purwono, the judge imposed a 10-year sentence.

The two KPI officials were also required to pay a Rp 1 billion fine and a substitute 190 days in jail.

This verdict was lighter than the prosecutors’ demands. Earlier, on 13 February 2026, the State Prosecutors sought 14 years in prison for the three defendants, with a Rp 1 billion fine and Rp 5 billion in restitution.

The prosecutors’ demand asserted that the three, along with six other defendants in the oil case, had caused state losses of Rp 285 trillion.