Attorney General's Office Against Acquittal Verdict in CPO Export Case, Judge Bribery Case Under Consideration

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The Attorney General's Office has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court to challenge the acquittal verdict handed down by the judges of the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court to three corporate defendants in a corruption case involving the granting of export facilities for crude palm oil (CPO). The case of alleged bribery and case management involving the former Deputy Chair of the Central Jakarta District Court and three presiding judges will be taken into consideration. The Supreme Court is expected to review the decision as it is suspected to be the result of case trading.

The Head of the Legal Information Center of the Attorney General's Office, Harli Siregar, on Tuesday (15/4/2025), stated that the public prosecutor had filed an appeal based on the Deed of Appeal Submission related to the corruption case involving the granting of export facilities for CPO on March 27, 2025. The case was decided at the Jakarta Corruption Court on March 19, 2025.

After filing for cassation, the public prosecutor was given 14 days to submit a cassation memorandum in accordance with criminal procedural law. In this case, the public prosecutor had already submitted the cassation memorandum, which was received by the Central Jakarta District Court on April 9, 2025.

According to Harli, the public prosecutor will consider the possibility of bribery or gratuities to the panel of judges in submitting a cassation memorandum. This is because it falls under the three main reasons that can serve as the basis for filing a cassation in criminal cases, namely errors in the application of the law, procedural errors in court, and exceeding the limits of authority.

Regarding this matter, Harli stated that the public prosecutor views that the panel of judges in the corruption case concerning the granting of CPO export permits made their decision based on considerations that were not in accordance with the law. "It is an undeniable fact that this is currently under investigation in connection with allegations of bribery and gratuities," he said.

The panel of judges who tried the corruption case of the granting of CPO exports were Djuyamto, Agam Syarif Baharuddin, and Ali Muhtarom. They handed down a verdict of onstslag van alle rechtsvervolging or meaning that the defendants were proven to have committed the acts charged, but the acts did not constitute a criminal act.

The verdict contradicted the demands of the public prosecutor, who had urged the panel of judges to rule that three corporate groups were legally and convincingly guilty of committing corruption collectively. Additionally, the prosecutor also demanded that the corporate defendants pay restitution.

The defendant Permata Hijau Group is demanded to pay compensation amounting to Rp 937.5 billion. The defendant Wilmar Group is demanded to pay compensation for the country's economic losses amounting to Rp 11.8 trillion. Meanwhile, the defendant Musim Mas Group is demanded to pay compensation for the country's economic losses amounting to Rp 4.8 trillion.

Separately, Zaenur Rohman, a researcher at the Center for Anti-Corruption Studies at Gadjah Mada University (Pukat UGM), stated that since the corruption case involving the granting of export facilities for CPO is still ongoing at the cassation level, the Supreme Court is expected to review the decision made by the first-level court. This is because the case demonstrates that the verdict reached by the panel of judges was the result of case trading.

In this case, according to Zaenur, the Supreme Court must try itself independently, freely, independently, in order to produce a fair, appropriate, and correct decision. Therefore, Zaenur hopes that the cassation panel of judges will later grant the cassation filed by the public prosecutor.

"Imagine, if this case had not been uncovered, the demand for compensation of Rp 17 trillion would have been bought very cheaply, for only Rp 60 billion. That would have been a huge loss to the state," said Zaenur.

Separately, the Indonesian Judges Solidarity (SHI) through a written statement stated that the alleged bribery and gratification case that dragged the four judges was a reminder that the judiciary must be improved in order to maintain its integrity. This is because SHI believes that eradicating corruption, especially in the judiciary, is an important foundation in realizing fair and transparent law.

The Supreme Court is expected to review the decision taken by the first instance court. Because, the case shows that the decision taken by the panel of judges resulted from the buying and selling of cases.

"Judges as guardians of justice must adhere to the values of honesty and integrity. This incident is a strong warning that there is no place for corruption in the judicial institution, and judges must be able to be an example for society in upholding legal ethics," as quoted from the SHI statement.

According to SHI, the incident is an important momentum for cleaning up and reforming the judicial institution. SHI hopes that along with efforts to improve the welfare of judges, supervision and accountability of judges will also be tightened.

According to Harli, until Tuesday, investigators are still focused on examining witnesses and investigating the roles of the suspects in the alleged bribery or gratification case of handling the export of crude palm oil or CPO at the Central Jakarta District Court. That is why, since yesterday the suspects have been questioned in turns to explore the information that investigators already have.

In addition, investigators also analyzed several pieces of evidence in the form of documents that had been previously confiscated. Regarding documents, investigators must ensure that the contents or content of the documents obtained are in accordance with the articles of suspicion imposed on the suspects.

The Attorney General's Office has named seven suspects in the alleged bribery or gratification case of providing CPO export facilities with corporate defendants, namely Permata Hijau Group, Wilmar Group, and Musim Mas Group. They are the Chairman of the South Jakarta District Court Muhammad Arif Nuryanta, Wahyu Gunawan as the Deputy Civil Registrar of the North Jakarta District Court who previously served at the Central Jakarta District Court, and Marcella Santoso and Aryanto Bakri as the company's attorneys. The next three suspects are Djuyamto, Agam Syarif Baharuddin, and Ali Muhtarom.

According to Harli, investigators are tracing the origin of the Rp 60 billion given by suspect Aryanto to Arif Nuryanta through Wahyu Gunawan. The money was then distributed by Arif Nuryanta to three judges for a total of Rp 22 billion. Thus, there is still a remainder of around Rp 38 billion.

"That is what is being investigated. Indeed, logically, whether this is purely from AR (Aryanto) or from another party. That is what investigators will continue to investigate," said Harli.

Meanwhile, regarding the remaining money of around Rp 38 billion, according to Harli, it is not a problem. Because, the most important thing is that there is an agreement to provide Rp 60 billion and be received by another party to handle the case.

Thus, as long as the money has been received, Harli said that the crime is over. "That, for example, the agreement was Rp 60 billion and it was received, I think the act is over. I think that (the remaining money) does not need to be (proven)," said Harli.