Simon Gunawan Tanjaya, an executive at Singapore-based oil trading company Kernel Oil Pte Ltd, is the first individual to be sentenced in connection with the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) bribery case.

The Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced him to three years in prison on Thursday for paying a US$700,000 bribe to former SKKMigas chief Rudi Rubiandini.

'€œDefendant Simon G. Tanjaya is proven guilty of joint corruption,'€ presiding judge Tati Hadianti read from the verdict at the Jakarta Corruption Court in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

One of the judges on the panel, I Made Hendra, said that Simon, together with Kernel Oil president director Widodo Ratanachaithong, paid the bribe to Rudi through Deviardi, a golf trainer who allegedly acted as a middleman in the case.

The money was given to Rudi in return for a pledge to allocate oil blocks to Fossus Energy Pte Ltd, another company represented by Widodo.

Rudi reportedly promised that Fossus Energy Ltd would be declared the winner of a limited tender for the Senipah oil block on June 7, 2013.

He also allegedly agreed to replace Grissik Mix crude oil with cargo from February 2013 to July 2013 for Fossus Energy and appoint the company the winner of the limited tender of the Minas crude oil block and the Senipah oil field on July 4.

The court also ordered Simon to pay a Rp 200-million ($16,381) fine or serve an additional three months in prison.

The judges found Simon guilty of violating Article 5 of the 1999 Corruption Law.

The sentence was lighter than the four years sought by Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors.

In response to the verdict, Simon said he would consult with his team of lawyers before deciding whether to appeal.

Widodo first met Rudi in April 2013 in Singapore, where he introduced himself as a trader and expressed his interest in participating in SKKMigas tenders.

Widodo then gave S$200,000 to Deviardi in Singapore to be passed on to Rudi.

Rudi reportedly told Deviardi to keep the money first when the two finally met.

In May, Widodo introduced Simon as his aide in Indonesia to Deviardi, saying that Simon was responsible for registering for tenders at SKKMigas on behalf of companies represented by Widodo, including Kernel Oil, Fossus Energy, Fortek Thailand Co. Ltd. and World Petroleum Energy Pte. Ltd.

Following the meeting, Rudi, reportedly at Widodo'€™s request, combined two oil tenders into one package and gave the project to Widodo.

Soon after, Rudi allegedly requested and received $200,000 from Widodo on June 26 at Plaza Mandiri on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta.

In July, Rudi, through Deviardi, is believed to have demanded $700,000 from Widodo.

Widodo instructed Simon to deliver $300,000 first to Rudi through Deviardi on July 26.

The other $400,000 was delivered on Aug. 13, when Rudi, Deviardi and Simon were arrested in a KPK sting.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik has also been implicated in the case and has been summoned by the KPK for questioning.

Many have speculated that the bribery was devised to collect funds for political purposes.

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