An Indonesian court is set to deliver verdicts on Thursday on nine people facing charges related to alleged illegal imports of crude oil, leasing of a fuel terminal, and other actions that caused a loss to the state of IDR285 trillion ($17 billion).
Among the defendants are former chief executives of Pertamina Patra Niaga and Pertamina International Shipping, subsidiaries of state energy firm Pertamina, and a beneficial owner of a fuel terminal operator.
The case is one of the major prosecutions launched under the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, who has vowed to eradicate corruption.
The prosecutors said the alleged activity took place between 2018 and 2023 and have demanded jail sentences of 14 to 18 years for the defendants.
Local media reported that Riva Siahaan, a former chief executive of Pertamina Patra Niaga, and Yoki Firnandi, a former chief executive of Pertamina International Shipping, rejected the charges against them and they pleaded not guilty in court statements.
Muhamad Kerry Adrianto Riza, a beneficial owner of a fuel terminal leased by Pertamina, also denied the charges against him and pleaded not guilty in his plea statement, media reported.
(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by John Mair)