South Jakarta District Court Sessions Pretrial Lawsuit Karen Agustiawan

The trial of the pretrial lawsuit filed by the President Director of PT Pertamina (Persero) 2009-2014 Karen Agustiawan/ANTARA/Erlangga Bregas Prakoso

JAKARTA - The South Jakarta District Court has begun to hear a pretrial lawsuit against Karen Agustiawan over the determination of the suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in the case of the procurement of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at PT Pertamina in 2011-2021.

The trial at the South Jakarta District Court (PN) was chaired by the sole judge Tumpanuli Marbun.

Galaila lawyer Karen Kardinah alias Karen Agustiawan, Rebbeca Elizabeth asked for the determination of the President Director of PT Pertamina (Persero) 2009-2014 as a suspect in the case to be invalid and not based on law.

"Declaring that all decisions or determinations issued further by the KPK are invalid with regard to the determination of the suspect, for the applicant (Karen Agustiawan) by the respondent," Rebbeca Elizabeth said in a trial reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, October 25.

Rebeca also asked the sole judge Tumpanuli Marbun who tried this pretrial lawsuit to declare the Investigation Order Number Sprin.Dik/53/DIK.00/01/06/2022, dated June 6, 2022, which named Karen Agustiawan as a suspect by the KPK invalid and baseless.

Rebeca said there were several basic points that made his client feel objections to being named a suspect. One of them is delaying the examination of the suspect for too long.

"In the process of investigating the a quo, the applicant has experienced an inappropriate delay, where the applicant is not immediately examined by the respondent and the applicant is examined as a suspect after one year and three months after being named a suspect," he said.

Rebeca also questioned if the determination of the suspect Karen Agustiawan was based on Pertamina's decision to cooperate with the Corporate Christi Liquefaction (CCL), then the act was considered a corporate action.

"If Pertamina's so-called LNG procurement of legal events from the Corporate Christi Liquefaction is the basis for the respondent to determine the applicant as a suspect, then the act is a corporate action. Thus, what should be a suspect is not a applicant," he said.

Then Rebeca also questioned the investigation until the determination of the General Director of Pertamina 2009-2014.

as a suspect, there has been no definite calculation of state losses from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).

His party stated that the LNG procurement contract between Pertamina and Corpus Christi Liquefaction is a contract that is still ongoing and has a validity period of at least 20 years from the time Corpus Christi Train operates or until around 2040.

Pertamina saat ini telah mendapat keuntungan dari penjualan volume LNG Corpus Christi, sebagaimana berdasarkan Memoran Dinas Pertamina No 318/G300/2023-S3 tanggal 31 Juli 2023 Perihal Laporan Total Pendapatan Penjualan Kargo LNG dari Kontrak Corpus Christi beserta profit atau keuntungannya untuk periode Juli 2019-Juli 2023.

So far, he said, Pertamina's total profit value from LNG Corpus Christi's trading has reached US$88.87 million or equivalent to Rp1.3 trillion.

Single Judge Tumpanuli Marbun gave the KPK Legal Bureau team time to provide the answer on Thursday (26/10).

"The response from the respondent (KPK) is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, October 26," said the judge in the trial.

The trial is planned to be held again on Thursday (26/10) with an agenda of answers from the KPK legal bureau team regarding the petitum submitted by the applicant's team of lawyers.