JAKARTA: The Immigration and Corrections Ministry has revealed that the last-known whereabouts of Muhammad Riza Chalid, a key suspect in the high-profile corruption case involving state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina, was traced to Malaysia.
The ministry said last week that Riza departed Indonesia on Feb 6 for Malaysia and had not returned since.
“Based on the information we have, he is still in Malaysia to date,” deputy immigration minister Silmy Karim told reporters on Monday (July 21), as quoted by Antara.
Acting immigration director general Yuldi Yusman previously said his office was coordinating with its Malaysian office and had “communicated with the Malaysian Immigration Department and the Royal Malaysia Police to locate Riza”.
He added that Riza had entered Singapore in August 2024 on a visitor visa. Also last week, in response to media reports speculating about his whereabouts shortly after he was declared a suspect in the Pertamina case, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore announced that Riza was not in the island state and “had not entered Singapore for quite some time”.
Separately, Attorney General’s Office (AGO) spokesperson Anang Supriatna said investigators had been aware that immigration authorities had tracked Riza to Malaysia.
“We are currently looking into it to verify the details while continuing [our] efforts to bring Riza in for questioning," Anang told The Jakarta Post on Saturday. He added that the AGO would send a summons to Riza’s registered address in Indonesia this week.
If Riza failed to respond to multiple summonses, however, investigators might consider taking firmer action to compel him to appear for questioning, Anang said, without providing details on potential measures.
Legal experts have meanwhile suggested that Indonesia could declare Riza a fugitive and submit a Red Notice request to Interpol to kick off an international manhunt, as well as initiate extradition proceedings.
The Extradition Law contains provisions on the involuntary return of fugitives involved in high criminal offences in Indonesia, such as corruption. The law is ratified in bilateral treaties with several countries, particularly neighbouring nations with high cross-border mobility, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Australia.
Dubbed the “godfather of oil” for his influence in the industry, the AGO named Riza as a suspect on July 11 for allegedly conspiring with executives of Pertamina and its subsidiaries to manipulate a leasing agreement for a fuel terminal in Merak, Banten, even though the oil and gas giant had no need of additional storage.
As the beneficial owner of private fuel terminal and logistics companies PT Tangki Merak and PT Orbit Terminal Merak, Riza is also accused of profiting from the inflated terminal leasing agreement with Pertamina.
The 17 other suspects, which include current and former senior executives of Pertamina and its subsidiaries as well as private companies such as Riza's son Kerry Adrianto, are already in the AGO’s custody in connection with the case, which has incurred an estimated Rp 286 trillion (US$17 billion) in state losses.
The AGO’s initial investigation into the Pertamina corruption case centered on fraudulent schemes related to fuel import deals from 2018 to 2023 and the procurement of lower-octane subsidised gasoline for resale as a more expensive brand.
The scandal has caused public trust in the state oil and gas holding company to plummet as fears rose among consumers nationwide that they might have been tricked into paying premium prices for low-quality fuel. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
