Jakarta. Former CEO of Pertamina, Galaila Karen Kardinah, also known as Karen Agustiawan, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for corruption in the procurement of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The panel of judges declared that Karen was legally and convincingly found guilty of committing acts of corruption. The sentence is lower than the 11-year prison term demanded by the public prosecutor from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

"We appreciate the panel of judges' ruling that found Karen Agustiawan guilty of corruption related to the LNG procurement, which caused state financial losses as charged by the KPK," KPK spokesperson Tessa Mahardhika said on Tuesday.

The KPK will review the nine-year sentence before deciding whether to appeal or accept the ruling. The KPK prosecutors are awaiting the full text of the court's decision.

Karen Agustiawan was indicted for causing state losses amounting to $113.84 million due to alleged corruption in LNG procurement at Pertamina between 2011 and 2014.

The former Pertamina CEO was charged with enriching herself by Rp 1.09 billion and $104,016, or about Rp 1.62 billion, as well as benefiting the US company CCL by $113.84 million.

Additionally, Karen was accused of approving the development of gas business at several potential LNG refineries in the US without clear procurement guidelines, granting only principal permits without proper justification, technical and economic analysis, or risk analysis.

Karen also allegedly failed to seek written feedback from Pertamina's Board of Commissioners and approval from the General Meeting of Shareholders (RUPS) before signing the LNG Sales and Purchase Agreements (SPA) for CCL Train 1 and Train 2.

This isn't the first time Karen Agustiawan has encountered legal troubles related to Pertamina's business dealings with foreign companies. On June 10, 2019, she was sentenced to eight years in prison for a separate corruption case investigated by the Attorney General's Office.

However, in March 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Pertamina's failure to benefit from a 10 percent participating interest worth $31.5 million in oil fields did not result in state financial losses, leading to Karen's acquittal.

Karen served as CEO of Pertamina from February 5, 2009, until 2015. In 2011, Forbes named her the top candidate in its Asia’s 50 Power Businesswomen list. Despite her significant achievements at Pertamina, Karen officially resigned from her CEO position on October 1, 2014.

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