Former Customs Director Charged with Rp7.3 Trillion State Loss in CPO Case

A former Director of Technical Customs and Excise at Indonesia's Directorate General of Customs and Excise, Fadjar Donny Tjahjadi, faces charges of causing state financial losses amounting to Rp7.37 trillion. The accusation stems from an alleged corruption case involving the export of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) and its derivatives between 2022 and 2024.

Prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office allege that Tjahjadi, along with 10 other defendants, manipulated export procedures. Specifically, they are accused of engineering CPO exports by disguising them as liquid waste, known as Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME). This alleged reclassification was intended to circumvent export duties and the domestic market obligation (DMO) requirements.

The indictment details how a draft industrial downstreaming map for palm oil was allegedly created at Tjahjadi's request. This map reportedly categorized CPO with a free fatty acid (FFA) content above 20 percent as Palm Oil Acid (PAO) or POME. Beyond this alleged misrepresentation, the defendants are also accused of engaging in unlawful acts through the customs laboratory testing, altering Harmonized System (HS) codes for exports, and avoiding export levies.

According to the prosecutors, the actions of the 11 defendants resulted in a discrepancy between the export duties and levies paid by private parties and those that should have been paid. This alleged scheme has led to substantial financial losses for the state, as confirmed by an audit report from the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP). The case is being heard at the Corruption Court in Central Jakarta.