Bareskrim Polri Unload Cases Of Abuse Of Subsidized Fuel In Pertamina Barcode Mode

Director of Certain Crimes at Bareskrim Polri, Brigadier General Nunung Syaifuddin. (Rizky A-VOI)

JAKARTA - Bareskrim Polri uncovered cases of misuse of subsidized fuel oil (BBM) in Tuban Regency, East Java Province, and Karawang Regency, West Java Province. Interestingly, the mode used to obtain diesel by using Pertamina's barcodes repeatedly.

The Director of Certain Crimes at Bareskrim Polri, Brigadier General Nunung Syaifuddin, said that the disclosure of the mode was the result of a series of investigations which began on February 26, 2025. At that time, information was obtained regarding the practice of misuse of diesel-subsidized fuel in the two regions.

"From the investigation, we have arrested 3 suspects in Tuban Regency and 5 suspects in Karawang Regency, who are suspected of being involved in the misuse of subsidized fuel," Syaifuddin told reporters, Thursday, March 6.

The three suspects who were detained in Tuban Regency, namely BC, K, and J. Meanwhile, LA, HB, S, AS, and E were arrested by Karawang Regency.

From this action, investigators secured 16,400 liters of diesel fuel that were misused, with details of 8,400 liters from Tuban and 8,000 liters from Karawang.

The modus operandi used by the suspects arrested in Tuban Regency is to use the same vehicle repeatedly to transport diesel fuel by utilizing the barcode stored on the cellphone belonging to one of the suspects.

Meanwhile, in Karawang, the suspects made and took care of making recommendation letters to buy diesel for farmers, which were then used to obtain the My Pertamina barcode.

After obtaining many barcodes, they bought and transported diesel fuel repeatedly using motorized vehicles. The fuel purchased is then resold at a higher price than the subsidy price," said Syaifuddin.

In this case, the suspects were charged with Article 40 number 9 of Law Number 6 of 2023 concerning Job Creation, as well as Article 55 of Law Number 22 of 2001 concerning Oil and Gas of Earth with a maximum imprisonment of 6 years and a fine of up to IDR 60 billion. In this case, the state is estimated to have suffered a loss of around IDR 4.4 billion, with the largest loss coming from Karawang Regency.