Kerry Riza's Lawyer Emphasizes That His Client Is Impossible to Pay Rp15 T Compensation

Attorney for the beneficial owner of PT Orbit Terminal Merak, Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza, Hamdan Zoelva (Ist)

JAKARTA - The lawyer for the beneficial owner of PT Orbit Terminal Merak, Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza, Hamdan Zoelva, said the decision of the DKI Jakarta High Court to pay compensation of Rp. 15 trillion together with other defendants was difficult to implement. The defendants are said to never enjoy such funds in the case of crude oil and refinery products management of PT Pertamina (Persero) period 2018-2023.

The statement was made by Hamdan after the appeal judgment hearing of Kerry Riza; Commissioner of PT Jenggala Maritim Nusantara, Dimas Werhaspati; and President Director of PT Orbit Terminal Merak Gading, Ramadhan Joedo at the DKI Jakarta High Court, Thursday, July 9.

"Kerry, Gading, Dimas were jointly sentenced to pay a total of Rp. 13.51 trillion. Like Nadiem, they also don't have this money. From the trial it has been proven, they never received that much money from this case. Their accounts, their tax reports, they are all clear that they don't show that much. Their tanks are still being used until now," Hamdan told reporters quoted on Friday, July 10.

Hamdan emphasized that Kerry, Gading, and Dimas were not entrepreneurs with trillions of rupiah in wealth. According to him, the business they built was actually financed through debt.

In addition, the facts of the trial did not show any flow of funds up to tens of trillions of rupiah to his three clients. Thus, Hamdan questioned the basis of the panel of judges to impose substitute money with that value.

"They are not billionaires. They are young people who build businesses with a lot of debt. Then why are they forced to pay for something they never had? Paying for something they never received?" he said.

Hamdan also alluded to the results of the examination of a number of professors and legal experts from the University of Indonesia (UI) and Wahid Hasyim University (Unwahas) who, according to him, concluded that his three clients were innocent.

"They are innocent, and should be free. The results of the examination of their verdict from UI and Unwahas concluded that they are innocent. But why are they sentenced so heavily? There is something strange, something unusual about this panel of judges," he said.

One of the irregularities that Hamdan captured was the fundamental difference in legal considerations for Kerry, Gading, and Dimas even though the case was examined by the same panel of judges.

"Our record has several things. First, the verdict of Kerry, Gading, and Dimas is in conflict with each other. In the Kerry verdict, it is said, yes - and in the judge's consideration - that there is a loss of Rp. 10.5 trillion for the country's economy for Kerry, then Rp. 1 trillion for Gading and Dimas. But it turns out, yes, in the Dimas and Gading verdict there is none, yes. There is no loss of the country's economy that big written in the verdict," he explained.

"It's weird, yes. The assembly is the same, yes. The people are the same even though the head is different. So one assembly with the material decision, the legal consideration is fundamentally and materially different," continued Hamdan.

Hamdan also highlighted Kerry's position as a beneficial owner who was considered not to have the authority to make operational decisions for the company. However, Kerry was sentenced to the heaviest penalty, namely 15 years in prison.

"Beneficial owner, yes, in criminal law it should be if it is associated with the beneficial owner, not the individual. It should be in the corporate crime. But this is not done," he said.

Hamdan assessed that the case was a form of criminalization of business activities and was feared to have a negative impact on the business climate, especially business relations with Pertamina.

"What should be a business matter is brought to a criminal case, so that the way of looking at deciding this case is very different. And this has a very bad impact on Pertamina's business in relation to Pertamina's partners, now and in the future," he said.

Therefore, Hamdan asked President Prabowo Subianto to pay attention to the case. He said his party would appeal to the Supreme Court.

"We ask the attention of the President. As the President said on Bhayangkara's birthday, we fully support his statement that the law should not be used for the benefit of any group, there should be no criminalization and no abuse of authority. We ask, please free Kerry, Gading, Dimas, so that the law is really enforced. We will immediately appeal to seek justice for our clients," concluded Hamdan.