On June 24, the Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced Karen to nine years in prison after finding her guilty of illicit enrichment in a corruption trial pertaining to LNG imports from United States company Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi Liquefaction unit, which incurred Rp 1.8 trillion (US$109 million) in state losses.

In addition to the prison sentence, the judges ordered her to pay a Rp 500 million fine.

The sentence was lower than the prosecution’s sentence demand of 11 years in prison, a Rp 1 billion fine and restitution of Rp 1 billion and $104,016.

“The appeal is related to the [prosecution’s] demand for restitution that the judicial panel did not grant,” KPK spokesperson Tessa Mahadika Sugiarto said on Friday, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Read also: Ex-Pertamina head considers appealing prison sentence in LNG corruption case

In its sentencing, the bench said the Rp 1 billion restitution was the responsibility of Corpus Christi Liquefaction, rather than Karen.

Following the sentencing hearing on June 24, Karen’s legal team told reporters it had decided appeal her verdict.

This is the second time the former Pertamina president director has been found guilty of corruption.

In 2019, the Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced her to eight years for graft in a trial over her role in Pertamina's 2009 investment in Australia Basker Manta Gummy (BMG) block. The panel of judges stated at that time that Karen’s decision violated investment procedures and led to around Rp 568 billion in state losses.

In March 2020, the Supreme Court acquitted her of all charges, saying that Karen’s actions were simply a business decision and not a crime, even though they caused losses to the state-owned enterprise. (dds)