Indonesian authorities have arrested three judges who cleared three palm oil companies of alleged corruption in obtaining export permits, Reuters quoted an official as saying on 14 April.
In March, a court had acquitted the three companies – Wilmar Group, Musim Mas Group and North Sumatra-based Permata Hijau Group – of misconduct charges in obtaining export permits in 2022, the 14 April report said.
The three judges who made the ruling were arrested on 13 April, a spokesperson for the Attorney-General’s Office, Harli Siregar, told Reuters in a 14 April text message.
Prosecutors also arrested the chief judge of South Jakarta district court, Muhammad Arif Nuryanta, on 12 April, Reuters wrote.
Nuryanta was allegedly paid IDR60bn rupiah (US$3.6bn) to arrange for a favourable verdict by two lawyers for the companies, Siregar was quoted as saying in a statement, adding that US$1.07M was then allegedly paid to the three other judges.
“The bribe was given so that the judges would rule that it’s not a crime,” Siregar told reporters, adding that a court clerk and two lawyers had also been apprehended along with Nuryanta.
Nuryanta did not hear the case directly - he was the deputy chief of the court when the verdict was announced, the report said.
Siregar said the Attorney-General’s Office had filed an appeal against the court’s March acquittal of the companies.
At the time of the report, Wilmar Group, Musim Mas Group and Permata Hijau Group had not responded to a request for comments and it was not clear if the three companies would face any charges.
In 2022, Indonesia - which accounts for about 60% of global palm oil supply - imposed severe export measures, including a three-week ban on palm oil shipments, in a bid to bring down surging prices of local cooking oil, Reuters wrote.
