Jakarta, Legal Literacy - The Attorney General's Office has officially named businessman Muhammad Riza Chalid as a suspect in the alleged corruption of crude oil and refinery product management at PT Pertamina (Persero) and its subholdings and cooperation contract contractors (KKKS) for the period 2018–2023. The announcement was made by the Director of Investigation of the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus), Abdul Qohar, in Jakarta on Thursday evening, July 10, 2025. Investigators said that state losses due to this practice reached Rp285 trillion.

According to Qohar, Riza—the beneficial owner of PT Tangki Merak and PT Orbit Terminal Merak—is suspected of conspiring with Hanung Budya Yuktyanta, Alfian Nasution, and Gading Ramadhan Joedo to force cooperation in the leasing of the Merak Fuel Oil Terminal (BBM). Even though Pertamina did not need additional storage capacity at that time, the project was still included in the company's policy, the terminal asset ownership scheme was removed from the contract, and the rental price was set above a reasonable level.

Hanung Budya was recorded as Director of Marketing and Commerce at Pertamina in 2014, Alfian Nasution once served as Vice President of Supply and Distribution at Pertamina (2011–2015) and President Director of PT Pertamina Patra Niaga (2021–2023), while Gading Ramadhan Joedo was the President Director of PT Orbit Terminal Merak. Currently, Qohar said, Riza is in Singapore. “We have coordinated with the local authorities and are preparing legal steps so that he can be brought home,” he said.

In addition to Riza, the prosecutor's office named eight additional suspects, namely Alfian Nasution; Hanung Budya; Toto Nugroho—former Senior Vice President of Integrated Supply Chain (2017–2018) who now leads PT Industri Baterai Indonesia; Dwi Sudarsono, Vice President of Crude & Product Trading ISC Pertamina (2019–2020); Arif Sukmara, Director of Gas, Petrochemical & New Business PT Pertamina International Shipping; Hasto Wibowo, former Senior Vice President ISC (2018–2020); Martin Haendra Nata, an official at Trafigura Pte. Ltd. in 2019–2021 and thereafter; and Indra Putra Harsono, Business Development Manager of PT Mahameru Kencana Abadi.

Investigators explained the role of each suspect. Alfian is accused of removing Pertamina's ownership rights in the lease contract, approving a rate of USD 6.5 per kiloliter for ten years, selling diesel below the base price, and compiling a Pertalite compensation formula with an unreasonable value. Hanung is suspected of facilitating direct appointments without tender and approving high rental rates. Toto is considered to have imported crude oil through suppliers who did not meet the auction requirements; Dwi and two of his colleagues exported the state's share of crude oil which could still be processed domestically while importing similar oil at a higher price; Arif was involved in inflating the rental costs of the Olympic Luna ship by up to 13 percent and is suspected of engineering the tender so that a certain ship would win; Hasto is accused of directly appointing Trafigura as a gasoline supplier for the first semester of 2021 even though it was not an official partner of Pertamina and approving the sale of diesel below the reference price; while Indra is suspected of playing a role in the coloading of Escravos crude oil and adjusting prices according to the agreed mark-up.

All suspects were charged with Article 2 paragraph (1) or Article 3 juncto Article 18 of Law Number 31 of 1999 which has been amended by Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, as well as Article 55 paragraph (1) 1st of the Criminal Code.

With the addition of these nine names, the number of suspects now reaches 18 people. Apart from Riza Chalid, the complete list includes Riva Siahaan, Sani Dinar Saifuddin, Yoki Firnandi, Agus Purwono, Maya Kusmaya, Edward Corne, Muhammad Kerry Andrianto Riza, Dimas Werhaspati, Gading Ramadhan Joedo, Alfian Nasution, Hanung Budya Yuktyanta, Toto Nugroho, Dwi Sudarsono, Arif Sukmara, Hasto Wibowo, Martin Haendra Nata, and Indra Putra Harsono.

The Attorney General's Office emphasized that the investigation is still ongoing and opens the possibility of new suspects emerging. “We will trace the flow of funds and the involvement of other parties in order to recover state losses,” said Qohar.