Latest news with #HarliSiregar
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Indonesia calls in Singapore oil traders over Pertamina probe
Motorists queue at a PT Pertamina gas station in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. - Bloomberg JAKARTA: Indonesian investigators have invited Singapore-based oil traders to meet in the city-state next week as part of a US$12 billion corruption probe into state-owned oil firm PT Pertamina. The requests from the Indonesian attorney general's office come after earlier notices, sent over the past month, seeking cooperation in the investigation. Some Singapore-based traders have been asked to attend meetings from Monday (June 2) onwards, said Harli Siregar, a spokesman for the office, adding there was no confirmation that they would attend. "What matters is that they're willing to be questioned,' Siregar said by text message. "If investigators have to go [to Singapore], that's not a problem.' There is no suggestion that those called to assist in the wider investigation have been accused of any wrongdoing. Indonesian newspaper Tempo reported Tuesday that the attorney general had asked a unit of Pertamina to assist in calling in nine individuals in Singapore, citing an unnamed person with direct knowledge of the investigations. The report identified the individuals as employees of large trading companies including BP Plc, Glencore Plc and Vitol SA, among others. BP and Glencore declined to comment. A Vitol spokesperson said the company works in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and "seeks to have an open and transparent relationship with the relevant authorities in the jurisdictions in which it operates.' Singapore-based traders and companies that have received the requests have sought external legal advice to determine the extent of their obligation to foreign investigators, according to people directly involved in these efforts, who asked not to be identified as they are not authorised to speak publicly. It is not clear if Indonesia has formally sought Singapore's help under an existing mutual legal assistance treaty. The Attorney-General's Chambers in Singapore did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. - Bloomberg
The Star
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Indonesia approaches trading firms in Singapore in Pertamina investigation
The oil traders had received notices asking them to assist in answering questions on overall governance and past transactions. - AFP JAKARTA: The Indonesian Attorney General's Office has approached a number of trading firms in Singapore regarding a corruption investigation involving state energy firm Pertamina, it said on Monday (May 19). A number of executives at subsidiaries of Pertamina were arrested earlier this year for alleged corruption related to oil imports between 2018 and 2023 that caused US$12 billion in state losses. Pertamina publicly apologised and promised to improve transparency following the arrests. Investigators now want to question some Singapore trading companies about the case, Harli Siregar, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office, told Reuters. Earlier attempts to summon the companies - whose names have not been disclosed - to Jakarta were unsuccessful, so the companies could possibly be questioned in Singapore, Siregar said. "These companies will be questioned to strengthen the evidence-gathering for the ongoing investigation," Siregar said, declining to give further details. "We respect the ongoing legal process and support the Attorney General's Office in its investigation and law enforcement efforts in accordance with applicable regulations," Pertamina spokesperson Fadjar Djoko Santoso said in response to a Reuters request for comment. At least four trading companies have received a letter to assist with the investigation at Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB),four sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, asking not to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the case. CPIB did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Bloomberg earlier reported the news that Singapore trading firms had been approached in the investigation. The Indonesian Attorney General's Office said it has questioned hundreds of witnesses in the probe. - Reuters
Hindustan Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Indonesia approaches trading firms in Singapore in Pertamina investigation
JAKARTA, - The Indonesian Attorney General's Office has approached a number of trading firms in Singapore regarding a corruption investigation involving state energy firm Pertamina, it said on Monday. A number of executives at subsidiaries of Pertamina were arrested earlier this year for alleged corruption related to oil imports between 2018 and 2023 that caused $12 billion in state losses. Pertamina publicly apologised and promised to improve transparency following the arrests. Investigators now want to question some Singapore trading companies about the case, Harli Siregar, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office, told Reuters. Earlier attempts to summon the companies - whose names have not been disclosed - to Jakarta were unsuccessful, so the companies could possibly be questioned in Singapore, Siregar said. "These companies will be questioned to strengthen the evidence-gathering for the ongoing investigation," Siregar said, declining to give further details. "We respect the ongoing legal process and support the Attorney General's Office in its investigation and law enforcement efforts in accordance with applicable regulations," Pertamina spokesperson Fadjar Djoko Santoso said in response to a Reuters request for comment. At least four trading companies have received a letter to assist with the investigation at Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau ,four sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, asking not to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the case. CPIB did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Bloomberg earlier reported the news that Singapore trading firms had been approached in the investigation. The Indonesian Attorney General's Office said it has questioned hundreds of witnesses in the probe.
The Star
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Indonesian military's security protection for Attorney General's Office draws flak
JAKARTA: The Indonesian Military's (TNI) expanded deployment of personnel to provide security protection for prosecutors nationwide has once again landed the institution in hot water for stoking fears of military intervention in the judicial realm. The military is dispatching its soldiers to guard all prosecutors' offices nationwide in order to ensure smoothness and security for prosecutors in their work following a telegram message signed by TNI chief Gen Agus Subiyanto on May 5. The telegram message instructed the deployment of 30 military personnel for every provincial prosecutor's office and 10 for every district level office. Attorney General's Office (AGO) spokesperson Harli Siregar said on Monday that the security protection shows the TNI's support for the prosecutors and is based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated April 6, 2023, that aims to bolster cooperation between the two institutions. The military dispatch has alerted human rights activists who see it as a hint toward the military's growing presence in the civil sector during the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, particularly after the recent controversial amendment to the TNI Law. 'This kind of deployment further strengthens the military's intervention in the civilian sphere, especially in the law enforcement area,' a coalition of 20 rights groups, including the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said in a statement on Sunday (May 11). The coalition called on the military to revoke the letter of deployment, as it warned that the military's defense duties could degrade the independence of Indonesia's law. Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, said the order violates the Constitution and a number of laws, including the law governing the AGO and the TNI Law itself, which was revised in March despite public protest against provisions many believe pave the way for TNI's expansion into civilian roles. Army spokesperson Wahyu rebuked the claim, saying that the TNI law stipulates that the AGO is among the state institutions that active military personnel can be assigned to. But Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS) cofounder Khairul Fahmi said that the provision applies only to those who work at the office of the assistant attorney general for intelligence (Jampidmil). 'The law simply cannot be used as a basis for troop deployment,' Khairul said. Usman of Amnesty noted that this deployment order 'further strengthens public suspicion that the TNI will return to its dwifungsi [dual function] following the amendment to the TNI law', referring to the military rule of the New Order authoritarian regime under late president Suharto which led to dozens of human rights violations. The last time the military deployed its personnel to guard the AGO headquarters in Jakarta was in May of last year following an alleged attempt by members of the National Police's anti-terror unit Densus 88 to spy on the agency's top prosecutors. The latest dispatch, however, was not based on any 'special needs', Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Wahyu Yudhayana said. 'This is only part of a routine and preventive security cooperation, as has been done previously,' Wahyu said on Monday, adding that the military will continue to be professional in carrying out their tasks. Harli of the AGO stopped short of revealing whether the AGO requested the military dispatch or not but said his office had 'no certain urgency to do so', Rizal Darma Putra, executive director of the Indonesia Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies (Lesperssi), warned that the military could set a bad precedent if it put its troops at the AGO under no special circumstances. 'If the AGO is not facing a combatant threat, maintaining its security is certainly not the military's task. If the TNI cannot explain the urgency of ordering the dispatch, this could pave the way for more troop deployment in civilian affairs in the future,' Rizal said. Harli of the AGO dismissed the concerns about intervention, describing the security protection offered by the TNI as 'a collaborative effort' between the two institutions. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
Reuters
14-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Indonesia arrests judge after palm oil companies cleared of graft charges
JAKARTA, April 14 (Reuters) - The Indonesian Attorney General's Office has arrested a chief judge of a local court on charges of bribery following the acquittal of three palm oil companies in a case related to corruption in obtaining export permits, an official said. A court had last month acquitted the three companies - Wilmar Group ( opens new tab, Musim Mas Group, and North Sumatra-based Permata Hijau Group - of charges of misconduct in obtaining export permits in 2022. But Harli Siregar, the spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office, said on Saturday that two lawyers of the companies had allegedly paid Muhammad Arif Nuryanta, chief judge of South Jakarta district court, 60 billion rupiah ($3.57 million) to arrange for a favourable verdict. "The bribe was given so that the judges would rule that it's not a crime," Siregar told reporters, adding that a court clerk and two lawyers had also been apprehended along with the judge. Reuters could not immediately reach Nuryanta or his lawyer for comment. It was not immediately clear if charges would be pursued against the three companies. Wilmar Group, Musim Mas Group and Permata Hijau Group did not immediately respond to request for comments. Nuryanta was the deputy chief of the court when the verdict came in. He did not hear the case directly. When the corruption charges were first brought forward against the companies, prosecutors were seeking fines and payments up to 11 trillion rupiah. ($1 = 16,790.0000 rupiah)
