Jakarta. The Attorney General's Office (AGO) revealed on Tuesday that executives at subsidiaries of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina were involved in an illegal scheme to market subsidized Pertalite gasoline under the more expensive Pertamax brand.

The AGO also confirmed that Yoki Firnandi, CEO of Pertamina International Shipping, has been named as one of the seven suspects detained on Monday. Yoki is the second CEO of a Pertamina subsidiary to be implicated in the corruption scandal, following Riva Siahaan, president director of Pertamina Patra Niaga.

According to the AGO’s statement, during Riva’s tenure, Pertamina Patra Niaga allegedly blended subsidized Pertalite with Pertamax, which has a higher octane number and is sold at a non-subsidized price from 2018 to 2023.

“Such a practice is illegal,” the AGO said.

Additional Executives and Private Sector Involvement
Two executives from another Pertamina subsidiary, Kilang Pertamina Internasional, were also named as suspects in the case:

• SDS, Director of Feedstock and Product Optimization
• AP, Vice President for Feedstock Management

Additionally, three executives from private companies were implicated:

• MKAR, Beneficial Owner of Navigator Khatulistiwa
• DW, Commissioner at Navigator Khatulistiwa and Jenggala Maritim
• GRJ, Commissioner of Jenggala Maritim and President Director of Orbit Terminal Merak

Procurement Irregularities and Inflated Costs
The AGO alleged that these private companies were awarded contracts to supply crude oil for Pertamina’s refineries without a proper tender process. Furthermore, the shipment fees for imported crude oil -- handled by Pertamina International Shipping -- were inflated above standard rates, causing additional financial losses to the state.

The total estimated state loss from the scandal stands at Rp 193.7 trillion ($11.9 billion), according to the AGO.

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