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opi Ahmad Navis, former commercial division head at the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas), said that his former chief Rudi Rubiandini had '€œaccommodated'€ a request from businesswoman Artha Meris Simbolon for a lower gas price for her company.

Popi, who did not appear at the Jakarta Corruption Court as he was receiving heart treatment overseas, said in a written statement to the court judges that SKKMigas representatives held a meeting with Artha Meris in January 2013.

'€œDuring the meeting, Artha explained to us that her company suffered substantial losses with the current gas price and she underlined that other companies around there received a much lower price,'€ Popi said in a statement read out by a prosecutor from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday.

According to Popi, following that meeting Rudi had actively tried to get a lower gas price for Artha'€™s ammonia manufacturing company, PT Kaltim Parna Industri.

Artha had been accused of giving Rudi kickbacks to obtain a recommendation from SKKMigas for the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry to lower the gas price for Kaltim Parna, where she sat as president director.

Artha claimed that the gas price of US$12 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) for her company was too high, while competitor PT Kaltim Pacific Amoniak could get gas at US$5.3 per mmbtu.

The bribery scheme began when Kaltim Parna commissioner Marihad Simbolon, who is also Artha'€™s father, sent a proposal for a gas-price review to the ministry, but it was rejected because the ministry considered that the existing price was '€œprofitable enough'€ for the company.

Following the rejection, Marihad asked for Rudi'€™s help to accommodate his request. Rudi later said that he would help him and issued a recommendation directed to the ministry and promised to raise gas prices for Kaltim Pacific Amoniak.

'€œRudi then gathered gas supplier companies such as Pertamina to review their prices for Kaltim Parna and Kaltim Pacific. However, before Kaltim Parna received a lower price, Rudi was arrested by the KPK,'€ said the prosecution team, led by Irene Putri.

In his statement, Popi said that Rudi also ordered him to provide Marihad and Artha with updates related to the status of the gas-price review request.

During the Thursday hearing, the prosecution team also played recorded phone conversations between Artha and Popi, as well as between Marihad and Popi. In the conversations, Marihad and Artha asked Popi about their price-review request status, saying: '€œOur family is desperate and we could go bankrupt if the price is not reviewed.'€

Artha, who seemed startled by hearing the recordings at the court, told judges that she could not make any immediate comment.

'€œI have nothing to say now, but I will give my response at the next hearing,'€ Artha said.

The prosecutor previously charged Artha under Article 5 of the Corruption Law, which carries a maximum sentence of five years'€™ imprisonment. She was accused of bribing Rudi with US$522,500 through go-between Deviardi, Rudi'€™s golf instructor.

Rudi was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Deviardi received four-and-a-half years, for their involvement in the graft case. (idb)