KPK Prepares Legal Option To Collect State Losses To US Companies In Pertamina LNG Corruption Case

The defendant in the alleged corruption case of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or Galaila's liquefied gas Karen Agustiawan ANTARA PHOTO/Akbar Nugroho Gumay/nym.

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is preparing a legal option to collect state financial losses against companies from the United States (US) Corpus Christi Liquefaction (CCL) LLC related to corruption cases in the procurement of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at PT Pertamina (Persero). KPK Director of Investigation Asep Guntur said that his party must first study the legal and jurisdictional system in force in the company's home country. "There must be an agreement or understanding that this act was also stated there as a criminal act of corruption. If it is legal there, then it is different. Of course we will take that," Asep said when confirmed in Jakarta, Antara, Friday, July 5. The KPK has experience in handling cross-border corruption cases using the mutual assistance system cooperation procedure in criminal matters (MLA). However, he said that the process could not be fast. "KPK has coordinated, especially if I'm not mistaken, this is a case, Garuda, an e-KTP case, finally we communicated through mutual legal assistants, it was indeed a long process," he said. Former President Director of PT Pertamina (Persero) Karen Agustiawan was sentenced to 9 years in prison and a fine of Rp. 500 million, subsidiary to 3 months in prison for being proven corrupt in the procurement of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Pertamina. "Karen Agustiawan was legally and convincingly proven guilty of committing a criminal act of corruption together and continuing as the first alternative indictment," said Chief Judge Maryono at the trial reading the verdict at the Corruption Court, Jakarta (24/6). Thus, Maryono said Karen violated Article 2 paragraph (1) of Law Number 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001 in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the 1st Criminal Code jo. Article 64 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code. The panel of judges also stipulated that the sentence handed down to Karen was reduced by the period of arrest and detention and charged the defendant Rp7,500.00. Maryono said there were several things that easing Karen's verdict so that it was lower than the demands, namely that the defendant was polite at trial, did not get the proceeds of corruption, had family responsibilities, and devoted himself to Pertamina even though she had resigned. Meanwhile, several things that incriminate the verdict, namely Karen's actions, are considered not to support the government's program which is intensively eradicating corruption and harming state finances. Previously, the Managing Director of Pertamina for the 2009 —2014 Galaila Karen Kardinah alias Karen Agustiawan was sentenced to 11 years in prison and a fine of Rp. 1 billion, subsidiary to 6 months in prison, related to allegations of corruption in the procurement of LNG in Pertamina from 2011 to 2014.

In addition to the main crime, the KPK public prosecutor also asked the panel of judges to impose additional penalties on Karen to pay compensation of Rp1.09 billion and US$104,000, subsidiary to 2 years in prison. The KPK prosecutor also asked the panel of judges to pay compensation to the US company, Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC (CCL), amounting to 113.83 million US dollars.