Something Amiss with the Investigation of Riza Chalid

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - AS an oil trader who has done business under every regime, Mohammad Riza Chalid seemed to be above the law. His name has repeatedly been mentioned in connection with irregularities relating to Pertamina oil imports, but the tycoon, known as the Indonesian “gasoline godfather,” has always avoided being questioned.

Therefore, his naming as a suspect in alleged corruption in ‌Pertamina’s oil management raises a question: why do the authorities have the courage to detain him now? Riza, along with 17 other suspects, is accused of manipulating the process of oil procurement resulting in losses to the state to the tune of Rp285 trillion.

Riza has been caught up in legal cases ‌several times. In 2008, he was under the spotlight after winning a crude oil tender although not following the procedures. Riza supplied Zapati oil to Pertamina Energy Trading Limited (Petral), a Pertamina subsidiary in Singapore, without providing a certificate of origin and the results of laboratory tests. This data should have been handed over before the tender in order to ensure that the specifications for the oil were appropriate for the refinery and that the sale price was reasonable. The police named four suspects but halted their investigation, claiming that there were no losses to the state.

Riza’s company appeared in the results of a KordaMentha forensic audit in 2015. The Australian firm found a number of irregularities in transactions of Pertamina Energy Services, a Petral subsidiary, from 2012 to 2014. Pertamina’s crude and fuel oil requirements, including the specifications and estimated prices, were apparently leaked. Thanks to this inside information, Riza became Pertamina’s main supplier—regardless of who was the chief executive officer. The law enforcement authorities never seriously investigated his involvement.

Riza never forgot about the importance of political support. During the New Order regime, he was close to Bambang Trihatmodjo, the third son of President Suharto. During the Megawati Sukarnoputri era, he was on good terms with the elite of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). And when Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was in power, Rizal associated himself with the presidential family. He is also known to be close to National Mandate Party (PAN) politician Hatta Rajasa, whose daughter married Yudhoyono’s son.

In the recording related to the 2015 “Papa Wants Shares” in the Freeport scandal, Riza claimed to be the boss of the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa pairing in the 2014 presidential election. He helped fund the purchase of a house in Cipinang, East Jakarta, used by the Prabowo-Hatta team as its campaign headquarters. Riza understood the importance of playing on both sides. He was not shy about cozying up to allies of Joko Widodo—Prabowo’s rival in two presidential elections.

Riza’s extensive political network means that speculation that the Attorney General’s Office is putting its house in order—by summoning up the courage to investigate the most recent case—can now be dismissed. There is yet to be any evidence that the institution has the courage to uncover major cases involving people close to the power without “encouragement” from the ruler. And in a number of cases, the AGO has even become a “tool” to improve the government’s image so that it appears to care about law enforcement. In other words: populism.

During the Prabowo administration, legal populism has become common. Prabowo frequently announces policies that appear to be pro-people. The handing over of hundreds of thousands acres of oil palm by the Forest Areas Management Task Force to Agrinas Nusantara Palma, a state-owned enterprise managed by the military, is one example. After sidelining the previous players, the government rolled out the red carpet for their replacement: the military.

And it is this same populism that appears to have occurred in the Riza Chalid case. Legal action against a major player should only be appreciated if there is no hidden agenda. Our investigation uncovered different facts: a group of entrepreneurs asked Riza for a share of his business, but he refused. If this really did happen, it seems that this case is being investigated in order to bring about a change of players in the oil business.

If that is the aim, do not hope for improvements in the management of oil imports. Like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire, a change of players disguised as populism will only lead to a flourishing of illegal practices in the oil business. The interests of the people are always marginalized.

Read the Complete Story in Tempo English Magazine

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