Jakarta. Indonesia has formally requested that Interpol issue a red notice for fugitive oil tycoon Mohammad Riza Chalid, accused of orchestrating one of the country’s largest corruption schemes, which prosecutors say resulted in $17.5 billion in state losses.

The National Police’s International Relations Division, through Interpol’s National Central Bureau in Indonesia, submitted the request to Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France

“All requirements for the red notice request have been fulfilled by the Attorney General’s Office last week, and we immediately filed the request,” Untung Widyatmoko, secretary of NCB Interpol Indonesia, told state media on Wednesday. The notice is pending assessment by Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files and its Notice and Diffusions Task Force.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has declared Riza a wanted fugitive after he repeatedly ignored summonses for questioning in a sweeping graft and money laundering probe. Authorities believe he fled to Malaysia in February after his passport was revoked. He has been on the AGO’s wanted list since Aug. 19.

Prosecutors allege that between 2018 and 2023, Riza colluded with executives at state energy company Pertamina to manipulate crude oil procurement and lease storage terminals. His companies, Tangki Merak and Orbit Terminal Merak, allegedly secured contracts that bypassed Pertamina’s vetting process. His son, Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza, an executive at Navigator Khatulistiwa, is also among 18 suspects named in the case.

The AGO has already seized assets linked to Riza, including luxury cars, real estate, and Rp 833 million ($51,000) in cash, as part of efforts to recover state losses. Investigators claim Riza used his longstanding influence in the oil trade to push through fraudulent contracts that inflicted severe financial harm on the government.

Riza is no stranger to controversy. Once one of Indonesia’s most powerful oil traders, he previously controlled Pertamina’s trading arm, Petral, and has been linked to several scandals, including a 2008 crude oil import case that was dropped for lack of evidence.

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