A judge sentenced the son of an Interpol-wanted oil tycoon to 15 years in prison in connection with a corruption scheme estimated to have cost the government US$17bil (RM66bil).
Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza (pic) is the highest-profile defendant to be convicted in the sprawling scandal involving state-owned energy firm Pertamina.
He was found guilty of manipulating a lease and colluding with several Pertamina executives, according to a statement from the Attorney General’s Office.
“Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza has been proven in a legally and convincingly valid manner to have jointly committed corruption,” Judge Fajar Kusuma Aji told the court yesterday.
After a nearly 12-hour sentencing, the court handed Kerry 15 years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of about US$59,500 (RM231,000) as well as restitution worth about US$173mil (RM671mil).
Kerry’s father, “gasoline godfather” Mohammad Riza Chalid, is wanted for his alleged involvement in the same corruption probe, but has fled Indonesia. Interpol issued a red notice for him in January.
The Pertamina scandal involved procuring low-quality imported fuel at higher prices, among various other corrupt practices, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
At the same sentencing yesterday, Riva Siahaan, a former chief executive of a Pertamina subsidiary, was given a nine-year prison term. — AFP
