JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Attorney General's Office (Kejagung) is currently investigating two judges from the Central Jakarta District Court in connection with an alleged corruption case involving bribery for crude palm oil (CPO) export facilities. The judges under scrutiny are Agam Syarif Baharuddin and Ali Muhtarom. According to Harli Siregar, the Head of the Legal Information Center at Kejagung, Judge Djuyamto, who heads the panel, arrived at the Kejagung office around 2:00 AM on Sunday, April 13, 2025, but has not yet been examined by investigators.
"He arrived at the office early this morning, but we haven't received any information about him being questioned yet. We hope he will come in today," said Siregar.
Previously, Kejagung announced that it had named Muhammad Arif Nuryanta, the Head of the South Jakarta District Court, as a suspect in the bribery case concerning CPO export facilities for three major companies: Wilmar Group, Permata Hijau Group, and Musim Mas Group. On Saturday, April 12, 2025, Kejagung identified four suspects in total, including Nuryanta, WG (a Junior Registrar at the North Jakarta District Court), Marcella Santoso (Corporate Legal Counsel), and AR (an advocate).
According to Abdul Qohar, the Director of Special Crimes at Kejagung, the suspects are believed to have violated Article 2, paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 18 of Law No. 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Corruption.
In a separate but related investigation, Kejagung has confiscated significant evidence in the form of luxury vehicles, including a Ferrari, and substantial amounts of foreign currency linked to the bribery case regarding the acquittal verdict in the CPO export approval corruption case for the years 2021-2022. Abdul Qohar confirmed that the confiscations occurred after searches were conducted at the residences of the four suspects.
"On April 12, 2025, we conducted searches at various locations in Jakarta, and we also have continued operations in several provinces outside of Jakarta," he stated during a press conference.
The confiscated items include SGD 40,000, USD 5,700, 200 Yuan, and IDR 10,804,000 from the residence of Wahyu Gunawan, in addition to SGD 3,400, USD 600, and IDR 11,100,000 found in his vehicle. Ariyanto, another suspect, had IDR 136 million seized from his home, along with luxury cars including a Ferrari Spider, a Nissan GTR, and a Mercedes Benz G63. From Nuryanta, investigators confiscated SGD 65,000 in a brown envelope, USD 7,200 in a white envelope, and a wallet containing USD 2,300, SGD 2,316, RM 256, and IDR 25,850,000.
Previously, Kejagung had established that there was evidence of a bribe amounting to IDR 60 billion, which reportedly originated from Marcella Santoso and Ariyanto, who acted as lawyers for the three corporate suspects: PT Permata Hijau Group, PT Wilmar Group, and PT Musim Mas Group. The money was allegedly received by Muhammad Arif Nuryanta, who was serving as the Deputy Head of the Central Jakarta District Court at the time, through Wahyu Gunawan.
Qohar explained that the bribery was intended to influence the judges to issue an acquittal verdict in favor of the three corporate defendants involved in the cooking oil corruption case. "This was done to ensure that the court would rule that there was no proven wrongdoing, even though the elements of the charges were met," he elaborated.
The ongoing investigations into the judiciary's integrity highlight significant concerns regarding corruption within Indonesia's legal system. As these cases unfold, they underscore the necessity for transparency and accountability in judicial processes, particularly in high-stakes areas such as export approvals that impact the nation’s economy.
As the Kejagung continues its investigations, the public and legal community alike are watching closely to see how these serious allegations will be addressed. Will the investigations lead to systemic changes within the judiciary, or will they reveal deeper issues of corruption that have long been hidden from public view? Only time will tell as more details emerge from this troubling case.
