JAKARTA, April 10 (Reuters) - Indonesia's Attorney General's Office has named seven people, including executives from state energy firm Pertamina, as suspects in a corruption probe related to crude oil procurement.
The suspects in the alleged corruption, which took place between 2008 and 2015, include a vice president and a manager at Pertamina as well as three officials at Pertamina Energy Services, Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, director of investigations at the Attorney General's Office, told reporters late on Thursday.
Two other suspects included the fugitive oil tycoon Riza Chalid, who is the beneficial owner of three companies alleged to have benefited from dealings, and a director at one of the companies, Nahdi said.
The procurement took place through another Pertamina unit Petral, which was dissolved in 2015.
The seven suspects are accused of violating Indonesia's criminal code on corruption that caused a loss to the state, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The officials at Pertamina and its units are alleged to have manipulated tender processes and estimated costs that resulted in markups and higher gasoline prices, Nahdi said. Prosecutors also allege that the suspects leaked confidential information regarding the demand for crude oil and gasoline.
"The tender or procurement process for crude oil and refinery products results in a longer supply chain and higher prices, particularly for 88-octane gasoline and 92-octane gasoline, thus causing losses for Pertamina," Nahdi said.
Chalid, who police said earlier this year was at large in relation to a separate case, "had influenced procurement or tender process," the prosecutor added, without further detail.
A spokesperson for Pertamina told Reuters the firm respected the law enforcement process and urged all parties to uphold the presumption of innocence until a final and binding court ruling is issued. Chalid was named as a suspect in another case related to illegal leasing of a fuel terminal and illegal imports of crude oil.
Nine people were jailed earlier this year in that case, including two former chief executives of Pertamina units and Chalid's son.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by John Mair) -- Reuters
