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Jakarta Post

KPK ready to investigate Petral

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said on Sunday that it was still awaiting the go-ahead from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to probe alleged corruption plaguing now-defunct oil and gas trading company Pertamina Energy Trading Ltd

Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, November 16, 2015

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KPK ready to investigate Petral

T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said on Sunday that it was still awaiting the go-ahead from President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo to probe alleged corruption plaguing now-defunct oil and gas trading company Pertamina Energy Trading Ltd. (Petral) and its subsidiaries.

The government has found indication of alleged foul play behind the purchase of fuel supplies by Petral, a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas operator Pertamina, at uncompetitive prices due to '€œintervention'€ from the third parties.

Jokowi'€™s administration is mulling two options in handling the case: taking legal action and handing over the case to the antigraft body or taking steps to resolve the case.

'€œWe are still waiting to hear from State-Owned Enterprises Minister [Rini Soemarno] and Energy and Natural Resources Minister [Sudirman Said], who will report the audit to the President to find out whether it will be followed up through corporate action or legal action,'€ KPK deputy chairman Indriyanto Seno Adji told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Indriyanto said that as the KPK had earlier conducted a study and series of graft crackdowns on the oil and gas sector, especially on Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas), it would not take long for the antigraft body to launch an investigation into the Petral case.

'€œAll law enforcement institutions, including the KPK, are ready to comply with the [to-be-made] President'€™s order,'€ Indriyanto added.

While awaiting the President'€™s instruction, Sudirman, who spoke on Friday at KPK headquarters, stated that his office would consult with the KPK on the alleged legal violations in Petral found by the audit.

'€œWe, along with the state-owned enterprises minister, are still looking for the right time for a consultation session with the KPK to figure out what we will do about it [the audit] in the future,'€ Sudirman explained, adding that he had submitted the Petral audit to Jokowi.

Apart from the alleged legal violations found by the audit, Sudirman said that his office had also instructed Pertamina, as the main company, to conduct internal reform on Petral'€™s management.

The oil and gas field is notoriously known for corrupt practices conducted not only by state officials but third-party individuals with no official positions in the sector.

Before arresting then SKKMigas chief Rudi Rubiandini in 2013 on allegations of accepting bribes, the KPK conducted a study on the oil and gas sector that found massive violations in business practices in the sector that could lead to hundreds of trillions of rupiah state losses.

The KPK'€™s crack down on SKKMigas later moved to name former energy minister Jero Wacik and Sutan Bhatoegana, a former member of House of Representatives Commission VIII overseeing energy, graft suspects.

Based on the findings, some third parties '€” not Pertamina management '€” intervened in the procurement and purchasing of oil and fuel for Pertamina Energy Services, a subsidiary of Petral.

On account of the interference, Pertamina received crude oil and fuel supplies at uncompetitive prices. Any discounts that Pertamina should have enjoyed in the process were stolen by the third parties.

House Commission III overseeing legal affairs member Bambang Soesatyo said that he supported the government'€™s plan to order law enforcement institutions, including the KPK, to follow up on the audit.

'€œThe government should not buy time by examining the audit in the first place as the audit has clearly shown alleged abuse of power in the case,'€ Bambang said on Sunday.

Bambang further suggested that law enforcement institutions particularly pay attention to the procurement of oil crude at Petral, which caused the price of fuel to increase between January and May this year.

'€œWhat should also be investigated is why the government didn'€™t dissolve Petral in 2011'€ the Golkar Party lawmaker added.

In the plight of massive irregularities in Petral, the government is mulling whether to dissolve Petral, with its liquidation and that of its subsidiaries expected to be completed in April next year.

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