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View all search resultsWilmar executive, lawyers found guilty in $4 million palm oil bribery case
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Marcella Santoso (second left) and Ariyanto Bakri (second right), defendants in a bribery case linked to the acquittal of companies in a crude palm oil (CPO) export corruption case, enter the Jakarta Corruption Court on March 3, 2026. (Antara/Bayu Pratama S)
T
he Jakarta Corruption Court has found a former executive and two lawyers linked to palm oil giant Wilmar Group guilty of bribing judges to clear three palm oil companies in a high-profile corruption case involving crude palm oil (CPO) export permits.
A three-judge panel led by Presiding Judge Efendi handed down the verdicts on Tuesday, sentencing Wilmar’s former legal head Muhammad Syafei and its lawyers Marcella Santoso and Ariyanto Bakri to six, 14 and 16 years in prison, respectively.
Syafei was found guilty of coordinating with Marcella and Ariyanto to bribe three judges, a court clerk and a former court official at the Jakarta Corruption Court with US$4 million to secure acquittals for Wilmar Group, Musim Mas Group and Permata Hijau Group.
In March last year, the companies were cleared of all charges in a case concerning illegal permits for exporting CPO and its derivatives in 2022, when the government imposed strict shipment restrictions.
The court sentenced him to six years in prison and a Rp 300 million (US$17,700) fine, significantly lighter than the 15-year prison term and Rp 600 million fine sought by prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), as the panel did not find Syafei guilty of money laundering.
Read also: Wilmar’s legal officer named suspect in palm oil bribery case
Meanwhile, the court ruled that Marcella and Ariyanto committed money laundering by setting aside $2 million from the illicit funds. Judges found that the pair deposited the money into personal bank accounts, purchased five cars and a boat, and later established a company to register the assets.
