Former Indonesian State Gas CEO Sentenced to 4 Years for Corruption

A Jakarta Corruption Court has sentenced Hendi Prio Santoso, the former CEO of state-owned gas company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) from 2008-2017, to four years in prison for corruption.

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Sentencing the defendant Hendi Prio Santoso to four years imprisonment and a fine of Rp200,000,000, which must be paid no later than 1 month after the verdict has legal force.

The court found Santoso guilty of jointly committing corruption in gas trading, as outlined in the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) indictment. He was sentenced to four years imprisonment and fined IDR 200 million, with an alternative of 80 days detention if the fine is not paid. The court also ordered him to pay a replacement fund of Sin$500,000, which he had already submitted to the KPK's account during the legal proceedings.

Presiding Judge Ni Kadek Susantiani cited aggravating factors, including the substantial state financial losses caused by Santoso's actions, his failure to support anti-corruption efforts, and the damage to the state-owned enterprise's governance. The judge also noted that Santoso was not forthright about receiving funds.

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With the provision that if the fine is not paid within the specified period, the defendant's assets or income will be seized and auctioned, and if seizure and auction cannot be carried out, the fine will be replaced by 80 days imprisonment.

Mitigating factors included Santoso having no prior convictions, having family dependents, and having returned the Sin$500,000. The court also acknowledged that Santoso was not the party responsible for due diligence or assessing collateral sufficiency, which lay with PT PGN. He was also noted to have behaved politely during the trial.

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The defendant remains in detention.

In a related ruling, Arso Sadewo, the main commissioner and majority shareholder of PT IAE, received a sentence of five years and six months imprisonment and a fine of IDR 250 million, with an alternative of 90 days detention. Sadewo was also ordered to pay a replacement fund of over IDR 118 billion.

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The defendant behaved politely during the trial.