Asia/Pacific News
Pertamina Official Charged with Fuel Smuggling
An official with Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina (Pertamina) has been arrested on charges of fuel smuggling, the Jakarta Post reports.
The Riau-based senior supervisor, identified as Yusri, allegedly ran a ship-to-ship smuggling operation for the past five years.
A police investigation found that Yusri's sister, civil servant Niwen Khairani, logged banking transactions worth Rp 1.3 trillion ($110.5 million) between 2008 and 2013.
Senior Commander Rahmad Sunanto, deputy head of economy and special crimes investigation for the National Police, said Yusri smuggled subsidised fuel on the black market together with charter-vessel businessman Ahmad Mahbub and two Indonesian Navy temporary workers, Dunun and Aripin.
"Yusri, who is assigned to oversee fuel shipments from Dumai to Siak, Batam and Pekanbaru, informed Dunun about the shipping schedule," Rahmad said.
"Later on, Dunun contacted AM [Ahmad]'s vessel to load fuel from [Pertamina's] tanker ship offshore."
The investigation found that Yusri altered shipping reports to conceal the illegal activity and may have been stealing fuel four times per month since 2008.
Ahmad allegedly sold the fuel to ships passing through international waters.
Police have frozen more than 100 bank accounts connected with the scheme and seized one vessel, six cars and trucks, heavy-duty vehicles, and more than 65 buildings and plots of land belonging to Yusri, Niwen, Ahmad, Aripin, and Dunun, and they plan to charge all five with multiple violations of corruption and money laundering laws.
Last year, Indonesian authorities reported that they had apprehended a ship operated by Pertamina and company personnel involved in diesel fuel smuggling.
