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AGO names 3 palm oil groups suspects in corruption case
The investigation comes after the Supreme Court last month upheld a lower court's jailing of executives at those companies for manipulating documents or submitting false data to obtain export permits.
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People shop for cooking oil made from oil palms at a supermarket in Jakarta on March 27, 2022. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
T
he Attorney General's Office has named three palm oil companies as suspects in a corruption investigation, alleging misconduct in obtaining export permits at a time when shipments were being restricted.
The investigation comes after the Supreme Court last month upheld a lower court's jailing of executives at those companies for manipulating documents or submitting false data to obtain export permits.
Indonesia, which accounts for about 60% of the global palm oil supply, imposed tight export measures last year, including a three-week ban on shipments, to try to secure domestic supply to rein in soaring local cooking oil prices.
Prosecutors said the executives' actions were on behalf of their companies, Singapore-based Wilmar Group and Musim Mas Group and Medan-based Permata Hijau Group and an investigation into the firms sought to recover state losses.
"Those three companies must be held responsible," said Ketut Sumedana, spokesperson for the AGO said in a statement issued on Thursday.
The companies did not immediately respond to request for comment.
A senior Trade Ministry official has also been jailed in the case for abuse of power.
Last month, the anti-monopoly agency fined seven cooking oil companies for restricting sales during the cooking oil scarcity period.
