Pertamina Oil Fields of Corruption

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Corruption in the management of oil at Pertamina happens at every level. They buy oil at too high a price and sell it at below market price.

THE Attorney General’s Office (AGO) investigation into the management of oil imports by Pertamina increasingly confirms the fact that it involves many people and careful planning from upstream to downstream. The questioning of Adaro Minerals Indonesia Finance Director Heri Gunawan shows that losses to the state also occur in the sale of oil to industry.

The AGO has named nine suspects in this case. One of them is Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza, son of oil trader Muhammad Riza Chalid, who became a crude oil import broker for Pertamina through Navigator Khatulistiwa. According to prosecutors, they received 13 to 15 percent of the profits from marking up the price of oil that Pertamina bought from various countries.

Pertamina’s losses continued because this state oil company is alleged to have sold this refined oil at below market price. This included to Adaro Minerals, a subsidiary of Adaro Energy, an energy group whose shares are owned by Garibaldi Thohir.

Garibaldi is none other than the older brother of State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, ultimate superior of the Pertamina directors. Given this relationship, the AGO needs to thoroughly investigate alleged corruption and conflicts of interest, losses to the state, and losses to the public. It is not impossible that the Pertamina directors received payments for their decision to buy oil at higher prices and then sell it cheaply because of pressure from their boss’ powerful acquaintance.

Given the abuses in the management of Pertamina oil from 2018 to 2023, apparently there was a political power and authority that made audits and investigation possible only now. And the length of time this corruption continued is apparent from the huge losses to the state, totaling Rp193.7 trillion—equivalent to the cost of 13 billion portions of free nutritional food.

The AGO investigation has also revealed that Pertamina preserved this corrupt process in oil management until its sale. Pertamina still relies on brokers to import oil, despite the fact that it could negotiate and buy directly from overseas sellers in order to obtain the best price. As a result of this corruption, Pertamina adulterated Pertamax gasoline with cheaper and lower quality, Pertalite.

In 2015, the Anti-Oil Mafia Task Force led by economist Faisal Basri, dissolved Pertamina Energy Trading Ltd (Petral), a Pertamina subsidy, as a ruse to conceal the role of brokers. Rizal Chalid was known as the businessperson controlling Petral. Apparently, corruption and manipulation can transform and regenerate.

When the upstream player changes from father to son in the form of another entity, downstream the new person in charge manipulates prices to make profits. And regarding the Pertamina corruption, the change of regime meant that the number of players increased, meaning that losses also rose.

Now Pertamina is under the Daya Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency, or Danantara. Corruption in the management of Pertamina oil might change, but only in appearance. The corrupt behavior of its managers will continue because there is no political will to bring about a clean, transparent, and accountable system, as can be seen from the cronyism in the appointment of managers. Pertamina will continue to be a field of corruption from regime to regime.

Read the Complete Story in Tempo English Magazine

KPK to Auction Confiscated Assets in June 2025

1 jam lalu

Gas Station Explodes in Yogyakarta; Pertamina Explains

19 jam lalu

AGO Investigates Alleged Corruption in Laptop Procurement at Indonesia's Education Ministry

1 hari lalu

KPK Probes 6 Witnesses in Rp900bn Pandemic Aid Scandal

1 hari lalu

KPK Finds 31 Percent Budget Shortfall in Jakarta School Construction Projects

2 hari lalu

Uncovering Corruption Cases in Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital

2 hari lalu

Zulhas Reveals Why Prabowo's Village Cooperatives Are Partnering with Danantara

4 hari lalu

AGO Suspects Sritex Bankruptcy Stems from Credit Misuse

4 hari lalu

Bank DKI Ready to Cooperate After Former CEO Implicated in Sritex Loan Scandal

5 hari lalu

AGO Probes Corruption in Sritex's Rp3.58 Trillion Bank Credit

6 hari lalu