Indonesia seizes $725 million from Wilmar Group in palm oil graft case
JAKARTA :Indonesia's Attorney General's Office said on Tuesday it had seized 11.8 trillion rupiah ($725 million) from food company Wilmar Group that it said was related to corruption in obtaining palm oil export permits.
Indonesian authorities are probing Wilmar and two other palm oil companies, which they accuse of paying bribes to obtain export permits in 2022. Prosecutors had demanded 11.8 trillion rupiah in fines from Wilmar.
Wilmar and its subsidiaries returned 11.8 trillion rupiah to the Attorney General's Office and authorities seized the money as part of their legal case against the company, said the office's senior official Sutikno.
"Wilmar paid for the state losses they caused," he said at a press conference in which authorities were surrounded by stacks of cash amounting to 2 trillion rupiah.
Wilmar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In April, the Attorney General's Office arrested judges who acquitted the companies of misconduct in obtaining export permits, saying the judges received 60 billion rupiah to reach a verdict in their favour.
The Attorney General's Office arrested an employee of Wilmar in connection with the case in April. The company said it was assisting with the investigations.
($1 = 16,283 rupiah)
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