Verdict Hearing for Marcella Santoso et al. in Cooking Oil Bribery Case Set for 2 March
The verdict hearing in the case of alleged bribery for an acquittal in the cooking oil corruption case and money laundering, with Marcella Santoso as defendant, is set to proceed shortly. The judge will deliver the ruling for Marcella on 2 March.
“According to the schedule, we have the rejoinder on Friday, 27 February. Monday, 2 March is the verdict,” said presiding judge Efendi after the sentencing hearing at the Central Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court on Wednesday (18 February 2026).
In addition to Marcella, the panel of judges will deliver verdicts for other defendants in this bribery case, namely Ariyanto Bakri, Junaedi Saibih, and M Syafei.
On the same day, the judges will also hand down verdicts for three defendants in the case of alleged obstruction of investigations into three separate cases: the cooking oil case, the tin commodity case, and the sugar import case. The three defendants in the obstruction case are Junaedi Saibih, Adhiya Muzzaki, and Tian Bahtiar.
The Charges
Lawyer Marcella Santoso has been charged with paying Rp 40 billion in bribes to secure an acquittal in the corruption case involving the management of crude palm oil (CPO) export permits, the raw material for cooking oil. Prosecutors stated that Marcella paid the bribes jointly with others.
Marcella is accused of paying the Rp 40 billion bribe to judges together with three other defendants — Ariyanto, Junaedi Saibih, and M Syafei — acting as representatives of the Wilmar Group, Permata Hijau Group, and Musim Mas Group corporations. Prosecutors have also charged Marcella, Ariyanto, and M Syafei with money laundering.
Furthermore, defendants Junaedi Saibih, M Adhiya Muzzaki, and Tian Bahtiar, the latter serving as Director of JakTV, have been charged with obstructing investigations into three cases. Prosecutors stated that Junaedi and the others produced programmes and content aimed at shaping negative public opinion regarding the handling of the three cases.
The three cases are the tin commodity governance corruption case, the sugar import corruption case at the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, and the corruption case involving the management of crude palm oil (CPO) export permits for cooking oil. Prosecutors stated that Junaedi and the others carried out non-juridical schemes outside of court proceedings with the aim of creating the negative impression that the handling of these cases was conducted improperly.