Jadi Saksi Karen Di Sidang Korupsi LNG, JK Sebut Negara Harah Kalau Kurang Energi

JAKARTA - The 10th and 12th Vice Presidents of the Republic of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla or JK, said that the state is in danger if there is a shortage of resources or energy reserves. Therefore, its availability must be maintained.

He made this statement when he was a witness to lighten or a de charge for the defendant Karen Agustiawan at the trial of the alleged corruption case in the procurement of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Pertamina in 2011-2014.

Starting when JK conveyed that energy and food security absolutely must be maintained by the state by issuing policies.

"There are two resiliences that any country must always maintain and maintain, namely food policy and energy policy," said JK during a trial at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court, Thursday, May 16.

JK conveyed that energy resilience must be maintained because it will cause big problems if there is a shortage of availability.

One of the problems that will arise is the decline in the economy. This is because the industrial sector will experience many obstacles.

"Energy too, if there is not enough energy for a nation, then, of course, the nation's big problems as well as the difficult economy and investors or industries will be stuck," he said.

"That's why energy resilience is absolutely carried out by a country, including us all," continued JK.

In this case, Karen Agustiawan was charged with causing state losses of 113.84 million United States (US) dollars or equivalent to Rp1.77 trillion due to alleged corruption in the procurement of liquefied natural gas or LNG at Pertamina in 2011 2014.

The indictment is based on the Investigative Audit Report of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) of the Republic of Indonesia in the context of calculating state losses for the procurement of LNG US company, Corporate Christi Liquefaction LLC (CCL) in Pertamina and other relevant agencies Number: 74/LHP/XXI/12/2023 dated December 29, 2023.

Karen was charged with enriching herself amounting to Rp1.09 billion and 104,016 US dollars or equivalent to Rp1.62 billion. Karen was also charged with enriching a corporation, namely CCL worth 113.84 million US dollars or equivalent to Rp1.77 trillion, which resulted in state financial losses.

In addition, Karen was also charged with granting approval for gas business development at several potential LNG refineries in the US without any clear procurement guidelines and only granting principle permits without the support of basic justification, technical and economic analysis, as well as risk analysis.

Karen is also said to have not asked for a written response from the Pertamina Board of Commissioners and approval of the General Meeting of Shareholders (GMS) before the signing of the LNG CCL Train 1 and Train 2 purchase agreement and granting power of attorney.