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Consumers can sue Pertamina for low quality fuel: BPKN
Chairman of BPKN Mufti Mubarok said on Wednesday that there's enough evidence to show that Pertamina mixed high-octane fuels with lower-octane fuels and marketed them as premium quality product, noting that consumers could file a class action lawsuit against the company.
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Motorcyclists queue to refuel at a gas station in Jakarta on February 8, 2023. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
T
he National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN) said in a statement on Wednesday that consumers who suffered losses from the alleged corrupt practices by the state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina, especially in the blending of low quality fuels, could seek damages in court.
Chairman of BPKN Mufti Mubarok said on Wednesday that there's enough evidence to show that Pertamina mixed high-octane fuels with lower-octane fuels and marketed them as premium quality product, noting that consumers could file a class action lawsuit against the company.
"In this case, consumers received false information and were misled because they paid for RON 92 fuel but in reality received only RON 90," Mufti said in a statement.
RON (research octane number), also known as octane rating, serves as an indicator of a fuel’s stability.
On Tuesday, the Attorney General's office said it had arrested several executives from subsidiaries of state-owned energy firm PT Pertamina for alleged corruption over oil imports that had cost the country nearly US$12 billion.
Seven suspects, including at least four Pertamina officials, were arrested on Monday.
They are accused of working together between 2018 and 2023 to import crude from overseas suppliers at higher prices, rather than source it domestically as mandated by law.
Investigators handling the case also found evidence that one of the executives ordered the branding of fuel with a low octane rating as a premium quality fuel sold to middle-class customers.
From the alleged corrupt practices, the state has suffered losses amounting to Rp 193.7 trillion (US$11.85 billion), the attorney general's office said.
Pertamina said in a statement that it would respect the investigation.
"Pertamina is ready to cooperate with the relevant authorities and hopes the legal process will proceed smoothly while upholding the principle of the presumption of innocence," it said.
