Jakarta. The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has placed oil tycoon Mohammad Riza Chalid on its wanted list after he repeatedly ignored summonses for questioning in a major corruption and money laundering case linked to fraudulent crude oil imports and processing.

AGO spokesman Anang Supriatna said on Friday that prosecutors had issued three warrants for Riza to appear, but he failed to comply. Authorities believe he has fled to a neighboring country.

Placing him on the wanted list "enables us to request Interpol assistance, including the issuance of a red notice,” Anang told reporters in Jakarta.

While launching a manhunt for the high-profile suspect, prosecutors have already begun seizing Riza’s assets.

Alleged $17.5 Billion in State Losses
Prosecutors allege that between 2018 and 2023, Riza colluded with executives at state energy company Pertamina to orchestrate fraudulent crude procurement and lease fuel storage terminals without operational necessity. The scheme is estimated to have caused Rp 285 trillion ($17.5 billion) in state losses.

Riza, one of 18 suspects named in the sweeping Pertamina investigation, is accused of securing contracts for his companies -- Tangki Merak and Orbit Terminal Merak -- to manage storage facilities at Merak Port. Prosecutors say the contracts bypassed Pertamina’s vetting procedures and were not justified by operational needs.

The AGO has 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. Authorities further allege that Pertamina subsidiaries colluded with private firms to mix low-grade fuel and sell it as premium, in addition to entering into contracts detrimental to the state.

Investigators claim Riza used his influence to push through a costly terminal lease that inflicted significant financial harm on the government. He is widely regarded as the most prominent figure among the suspects, who include several former senior Pertamina executives.

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