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AGO to question senior minister in investigation into palm oil graft case next week
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) plans to send another subpoena for Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto to be present for questioning as a witness next Monday in its investigation into a corruption case that has been blamed for contributing to a domestic cooking oil shortage last year.
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Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto waves from inside his car after attending a limited Cabinet meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta on July 10, 2023. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) plans to send another subpoena for Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto to be present for questioning as a witness next Monday in its investigation into a corruption case that has been blamed for contributing toward a domestic cooking oil shortage last year.
Airlangga skipped his first summons on Tuesday without giving a reason and after asking investigators to push back the questioning from Monday, according to AGO spokesperson Ketut Sumedana.
"We hope all citizens respect the law," Ketut said, as reported by Kompas.id, adding the investigators would send the second subpoena for Airlangga later this week.
Five people, including a high-ranking government official, were sentenced to prison earlier this year for conspiring to secure permits for exporting crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives through illegal means from January 2021 to March 2022, following an AGO investigation into the case.
Investigators are currently seeking to hold three palm oil private companies criminally liable for misconduct in obtaining export permits at a time when shipments were being restricted.
According to Ketut, the investigators would seek information from Airlangga about export permit procedures and his policies related to CPO exports during the period when the corruption case took place.
The government has been tightening exports of CPO and its derivatives following a shortage in cooking oil at the end of 2021.
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