Thomas Lembong's Corruption Verdict: Here's the Journey of the Sugar Import Case

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court is scheduled to hold a hearing with the agenda of reading the verdict for the defendant Thomas Trikasih Lembong on Friday (18/7/2025). This hearing will mark the final chapter in the legal proceedings of the alleged corruption case related to sugar import policies that has implicated the former Minister of Trade for the 2015-2016 period.

According to the schedule, the reading of the verdict will begin around 1:00 PM or 2:00 PM WIB. The panel of judges will decide whether Thomas Lembong is proven legally and convincingly guilty of committing corruption as charged by the public prosecutor, or if he will be acquitted of the charges.

"Therefore, for the agenda of the verdict hearing, it is scheduled for Friday, July 18, 2025," said the head of the panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Dennie Arsan Fatrika, during the rebuttal hearing on Monday (14/7/2025).

Dennie stated that the panel of judges will incorporate various considerations into the decision that will be read on Friday. "It is the opportunity for the panel of judges to consider everything in the ruling," he added.

To understand the context of the verdict that will be read today, here is a chronology of the Thomas Lembong case since its inception:

The Attorney General's Office (Kejagung) officially commenced the investigation phase of the alleged corruption case related to sugar imports at the Ministry of Trade for the period 2015-2020 in October 2023. With the initiation of the investigation, the Attorney General's Office has identified the occurrence of a criminal event and has begun to seek those responsible.

The Director of Investigation at the Attorney General's Office for Special Crimes, Abdul Qohar, stated that the investigation warrant (Sprindik) serves as the legal basis for the Jampidsus investigative team to take pro-justitia measures. The case has been underway prior to the dynamics of the 2024 presidential election.

"We don't choose or select the perpetrator as long as there is sufficient evidence," said Abdul.

Although he revealed that the investigation began in October 2023, Abdul could not answer regarding when the investigation began.

After nearly a year of investigation and examining several witnesses, the Jampidsus investigative team conducted a search at the Ministry of Trade office in Central Jakarta on October 3, 2024. This action was taken to seek and seize additional evidence to strengthen the case's construction.

From this search, the Attorney General's Office confiscated a number of documents and electronic evidence related to the corruption case.

The Director of Investigation at the Jampidsus at that time, Kuntadi, stated that the act of corruption occurred in the context of fulfilling the national sugar stock and stabilizing the national sugar prices of the Ministry of Trade. However, in the process, the imports were allegedly carried out unlawfully.

The Ministry of Trade has granted import permits that exceed the maximum required limits. Moreover, the approval for the import of raw crystal sugar, which will be processed into white crystal sugar, is reported to have been given to unauthorized parties.

The Attorney General's Office officially designated Thomas Trikasih Lembong as a suspect on October 29, 2024. He is alleged to have abused his authority while serving as Minister of Trade by granting approval for the import of raw crystal sugar to private parties for processing into white crystal sugar (for consumption).

The policy is considered to be in conflict with regulations that should prioritize state-owned enterprises. After undergoing questioning as a suspect, Tom Lembong was immediately detained at the Salemba Branch of the Attorney General's Office.

The determination of the suspect status and detention of Tom Lembong was carried out after the Attorney General's Office examined 90 witnesses. Investigators also designated Charles Sitorus, the Director of Business Development at PT Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia from 2015 to 2016, as a suspect.

According to Abdul Qohar, Tom Lembong granted approval for the import of 105,000 tons of raw sugar to PT AP, and the raw sugar was processed into white sugar. This was done to stabilize sugar prices in the community due to the scarcity of sugar and its high prices.

In fact, according to the decision of the Minister of Trade and the Minister of Industry Number 257 of 2004, only state-owned enterprises are permitted to import white crystal sugar for the purpose of price stabilization. However, based on the import approval issued by Tom Lembong, the sugar import was carried out by PT AP.

On the other hand, eight private companies that process raw crystal sugar into white crystal sugar actually have industrial permits as producers of refined crystal sugar intended for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. After these eight companies imported and processed raw crystal sugar into white crystal sugar, PT PPI is suspected of seemingly purchasing the sugar.

The sugar is sold by the eight private companies to the market or the public through affiliated distributors at a price of Rp 16,000 per kg. This price is higher than the highest retail price (HET) of Rp 13,000 per kg, and at that time, no market operations were conducted.

In this case, the Attorney General's Office stated that the value of state losses due to the importation of sugar that did not comply with legal regulations reached Rp400 billion.

Thomas Lembong pursued legal action by filing a pretrial lawsuit at the South Jakarta District Court to challenge his suspect status in November 2024. In addition to lacking sufficient evidence, Tom Lembong's side also considers the case to be more of an administrative policy issue rather than a criminal act of corruption.

The legal representatives requested the judge to declare the determination of the suspect and the detention as unlawful, and to order the Attorney General's Office to release Tom Lembong from custody. However, this request was denied by the sole judge, who stated that the process of determining the suspect by the Attorney General's Office was legally valid.

The judge also emphasized that the evidence regarding the validity of the corruption offense is not within the authority of the pretrial court, but will be examined in the main trial.

Thomas Lembong sat in the defendant's chair for the first time on March 6, 2025. In the indictment, the Public Prosecutor charged Tom Lembong under Article 2 Paragraph (1) or Article 3 of the Anti-Corruption Law.

The prosecutor stated that the policy has enriched several corporations and caused state financial losses amounting to Rp 578.1 billion. The atmosphere in the courtroom was silent as the prosecutor outlined the alleged actions.

After the reading of the indictment at the first hearing, the legal advisory team for Tom Lembong, led by Advocate Ari Yusuf Amir, immediately raised an objection or exception.

The inaugural hearing was also attended by the former Governor of DKI Jakarta, who is also a former presidential candidate supported by Tom Lembong in the 2025 presidential election, Anies Baswedan. Tom Lembong's friend came to provide support to Tom during the trial.

After a lengthy process of evidence presentation and witness examination, the Public Prosecutor submitted the indictment on July 4, 2025. Tom Lembong was charged with a prison sentence of 7 years and a fine of Rp 750 million, with a subsidiary of 6 months' imprisonment.

The Public Prosecutor requested the panel of judges to declare Tom Lembong legally and convincingly guilty of having jointly committed acts of corruption. In aggravating circumstances, Tom Lembong was deemed not to support the government's program aimed at ensuring a clean state free from corruption, collusion, and nepotism.

In addition, Tom is considered to feel no guilt and does not regret his actions. Meanwhile, a mitigating factor is that he has never been punished before.

The defendant Thomas Lembong and his legal team read the defense statement (plea) on July 9, 2025. In essence, they denied all charges and demands made by the prosecutor. Lembong emphasized that the policies he implemented were discretionary in nature to maintain national stability and had gone through the coordination meeting mechanism at the cabinet level. He also stressed that he did not receive any personal benefits.

The most interesting dynamic of his defense is when he expressed views with a political tone. Tom Lembong stated that if every official making risky policies is faced with the threat of criminalization, then no one will dare to make difficult and innovative decisions for the country.

In such conditions, he believes that the safest option for an individual is to become an opposition that can only criticize from the outside without having to bear the risks. This statement has drawn attention as it links his case to broader impacts on governance.

A few days later, the prosecutor and the defendant's side exchanged final responses. On July 11, the prosecutor presented a rebuttal that maintained the initial charges and requested the judge to reject the plea.

The most crucial dynamic in this replication is the prosecutor's acknowledgment that based on the trial facts, Tom Lembong has indeed not been proven to have received personal benefits or enriched himself from this case. Nevertheless, the prosecutor firmly maintains that this does not automatically eliminate the criminal elements.

The prosecutor emphasized that the elements of the corruption offense in the indictment have been fulfilled because the actions of the defendant are deemed to have enriched others or corporations, in this case, several private sugar importing companies. According to the prosecutor, this is sufficient to prove the existence of an abuse of authority that harms state finances.

Three days later, on July 14, 2025, it was the turn of Thomas Lembong's side to present their rebuttal or final response. This opportunity was used to launch a final counterattack against the prosecutor's arguments, which were divided between the legal arguments from the lawyer and the moral statements from Tom Lembong himself.

The legal team highlighted the inconsistency of the prosecutor who acknowledged that their client did not benefit from the corruption, yet still demanded a heavy sentence. They argued that the prosecutor completely failed to prove the most fundamental element of corruption, which is the malicious intent (mens rea). Without malicious intent, even a misguided policy should fall under the realm of administrative law, not criminal law.

The lawyers also strongly criticized the prosecutors' failure to present key witnesses who could explain the context of the policies at that time, such as State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno or even President Joko Widodo, who chaired the cabinet meeting. According to them, this indicates that the prosecutors are solely focused on punishing their client without wanting to provide a complete picture of the policies.

Today, July 18, 2025, the panel of judges will read their decision after considering the entire series of hearings. This ruling will determine the final legal status of Thomas Trikasih Lembong in the sugar import case.