Today, Judges to Announce Sentences for 9 Defendants in Oil Case

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The panel of judges is scheduled to deliver sentences for 9 defendants in the alleged corruption case involving the management of crude oil and refinery products at PT Pertamina (Persero), its subsidiaries, and contractors for the 2018-2023 period, today, Thursday (26/2/2026), at the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court.

One of the defendants is the nephew of oil businessman Mohammad Riza Chalid, namely Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza. In addition to Kerry, there are 8 other defendants who will also be tried today. The trial will be held at the Corruption Court (Tipikor) of the Central Jakarta District Court (PN Jakpus).

“That’s the schedule for today,” said the Spokesperson for PN Jakpus, Sunoto, when asked by CNBC Indonesia regarding when the judges would pronounce the sentences for the 9 defendants in the oil case, Thursday (26/2/2026).

Indeed, after the Public Prosecutor (JPU) submitted the indictment on Friday (13/2/2026), all 9 defendants had submitted their defense or plea last week, Thursday (19/2/2026) evening.

It should be noted that this verdict marks one year after the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) first named suspects in the alleged corruption case involving the management of crude oil and refinery products at PT Pertamina (Persero), its subsidiaries, and contractors for the 2018-2023 period. Kejagung first announced the suspects in this oil case on Monday (24/2/2025) evening.

Kejagung had named seven people as suspects in this oil corruption case on Monday (24/2/2025) evening. Then, two days later, on Wednesday (26/2/2025), Kejagung again named two new suspects in this case. In total, there are 9 suspects - who are now defendants - in the initial announcement by Kejagung. Then, on Thursday (10/7/2025), Kejagung again named 9 new suspects in the alleged oil corruption case, including Mohammad Riza Chalid. However, the trial process for these 9 suspects announced in July 2025 has not yet begun.

Defendant’s Plea

Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza stated that he did not issue any orders or interventions in the matter.

In the plea hearing held at the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court, Friday (20/2/2026) early morning, Kerry, the nephew of oil businessman and fugitive Mohammad Riza Chalid, stated that he initially did not know about the case that ensnared him until he was named a suspect.

He said that a week before the indictment hearing, he only found out exactly what case he was involved in after reading the indictment from the prosecutor’s office.

“A week before the trial began, I received a nearly 200-page indictment. I read it carefully, page by page, and that’s when I was really surprised,” Kerry said in his plea.

“The narrative that has been circulating in the public sphere, that I was blending fuel and causing state losses of IDR 193.7 trillion, turned out not to be reflected in the substance of the indictment against me,” he continued.

He explained that in the indictment, there were two actions that he was allegedly involved in, which led him to be involved in this case. He said that first, he was accused of asking defendant Gading Ramadhan Joedo (GRJ), as a Commissioner of PT Jenggala Maritim and Director of PT Orbit Terminal Merak, to send a letter of offer to Pertamina.

Then, he said, because he attended a meeting with Bank Mandiri along with defendant Yoki Firnandi (YF), as the former Director of PT Pertamina International Shipping.

Kerry then stated that during the trial process since it began on October 13, 2025, until February 9, 2026, no orders or interventions were found regarding his role. He also said that during the trial, there was no evidence of money flowing to him.

“Your Honor, the judges, from the entire trial since October 13, 2025, until February 9, 2026, it was not proven that there were orders from me, it was not proven that there were interventions, it was not proven that there was a flow of funds, and it was not proven that there was malicious intent,” said Kerry.

He even revealed that from the process he carried out, it actually provided real economic benefits for Pertamina.

“If someone really harms the state, there will be evidence of orders, evidence of the flow of funds, evidence of malicious intent, and a clear causal relationship,” he said.

“In this case, all of these elements have never been proven. Therefore, legally, the element of unlawful act is not fulfilled, the element of enriching oneself is not proven, and the element of harming the state cannot be proven legally and convincingly. On the contrary, the facts of the trial show that there was a contribution to efficiency and strengthening national energy security,” he added.

Meanwhile, the former Director of PT Pertamina International Shipping (PIS), Yoki Firnandi, submitted a personal defense or plea in the continuation of the trial of the alleged corruption case that ensnared him. The hearing took place on Thursday (19/2/2026) evening, at the Corruption Court (Tipikor) of the Central Jakarta District Court (PN Jakpus).

In his defense, Yoki highlighted his long career at the state-owned company, which now ends with him being a defendant in the alleged corruption case involving the management of crude oil and refinery products at PT Pertamina (Persero), its subsidiaries, and contractors for the 2018-2023 period.

Yoki Firnandi revealed that he was just an ordinary human being who had spent most of his adult life working and serving in the Pertamina environment. He admitted that he never imagined that his decades of dedication would end with him being a defendant in court.

“I have worked at Pertamina for more than 22 years. Having a good job in a large corporation so that my future and my family’s future will be better,” said Yoki while reading his plea at the Anti-Corruption Court, Thursday (19/2/2026) evening.

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