Indonesia’s attorney general’s office has detained three judges suspected of accepting bribes during a high-profile case involving illegal palm oil exports.

AGO’s director of investigations, Abdul Qohar, disclosed this on Monday.

Judges Agam Syarif Baharuddin, Ali Muhtarom, and Djuyamto were detained late Sunday on suspicion of accepting bribes in exchange for the acquittal of companies Wilmar Group, Permata Hijau Group, and Musim Mas Group.

In March, the suspects ruled that the companies had been exporting crude palm oil without government permits, but they decided that their actions did not fall under the country’s criminal laws, the Jakarta Globe reported.

According to Mr Qohar, after questioning seven witnesses, we gathered sufficient evidence to name the three judges as suspects.

“They are fully aware that the payments were intended to secure a favourable ruling.

”In 2024, the judges first received 4.5 billion Indonesian rupees ($268,111) through former South Jakarta District Court Chief Muhammad Arif Nuryanta and then another 18 billion Indonesian rupees in a second transaction.

“After the detainment of the judges, the total number of suspects in the case reached seven,” Mr Qohar said.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, prosecutors identified South Jakarta District Court clerk Wahyu Gunawan, defence attorneys Marcella Santoso and Ariyanto, and Mr Nuryanta as suspects in the investigation.

Wilmar Group, Permata Hijau Group, and Musim Mas Group have been accused of violating a temporary ban on crude palm oil exports.

The ban on Indonesia’s crude palm oil export was introduced by former President Joko Widodo in 2022 due to a nationwide shortage of cooking oil.

The government had then said the country lost $10.9 million due to the illegal exports, as it had to subsidise cooking oil prices in the domestic market to compensate for the crisis.

Five people, including a well-known market analyst, Lin Che Wei and a high-ranking official from the trade ministry, were sentenced to between one and three years in prison in January 2023 as part of the illegal exports case.

Other convicted defendants include former director-general of international trade at the trade ministry, Indrasari Wisnu Wardhana and business executives Parulian Tumanggor, Stanley MA, and Pierre Togar Sitanggang. 

(RIA/NAN)