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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Crime & Justice

Riza Chalid's Son Files Supreme Court Appeal in Pertamina Corruption Case

From Tempo · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza, son of oil merchant Riza Chalid, has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court regarding his conviction in the PT Pertamina crude oil corruption case.
  • The Jakarta High Court had previously sentenced Kerry to 15 years imprisonment and ordered him to pay Rp 2.9 trillion in state losses and Rp 10.5 trillion in economic losses.
  • His lawyers argue the ruling criminalizes business decisions and question the calculation of economic losses, which they claim were not based on official audits.

Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza, the beneficial owner of PT Orbit Terminal Merak and son of oil merchant Riza Chalid, has taken his case to the Supreme Court, filing an appeal against his conviction in the PT Pertamina crude oil corruption case. His lawyer, Hamdan Zoelva, confirmed the appeal was submitted on June 24, 2026.

We have already filed an appeal for Kerry.

— Hamdan ZoelvaConfirming the submission of the cassation appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Jakarta High Court had previously handed down a significant sentence, upholding Kerry's 15-year prison term. Additionally, he was ordered to pay Rp 2.9 trillion in restitution for state losses and Rp 10.5 trillion for economic losses, with a subsidiary sentence of 10 years imprisonment if he failed to pay. The court also imposed a fine of Rp 500 million, with a 140-day alternative jail term.

However, the High Court had reduced the fines for other individuals involved, including PT Orbit Terminal Merak Director Gading Ramadhan Joedo and PT Jenggala Maritim Nusantara Commissioner Dimas Werhaspati. Gading's sentence was reduced from 13 years to 7 years, and Dimas's from 13 years to 8 years. Their fines were also lowered to Rp 500 million each, with a 140-day alternative jail term. Despite these reductions, additional restitution orders were imposed: Rp 5 billion each for Gading and Dimas, with a four-year subsidiary sentence.

Therefore, I still consider that this verdict is a criminalization of the defendants Kerry, Gading, and Dimas.

— Hamdan ZoelvaExpressing the legal team's view on the court's decision.

Kerry's legal team contends that the initial ruling constitutes a criminalization of business decisions. They specifically question the calculation of the Rp 10.5 trillion in economic losses, arguing it was not derived from official audits by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) but rather from a non-profit organization's calculations. This discrepancy, along with other legal arguments, forms the basis of their appeal to the Supreme Court.

The legal considerations for economic losses in the appeal ruling state that Kerry must bear Rp 10.5 trillion in economic losses, while Gading and Dimas each bear Rp 1 trillion. Earlier, in Gading's legal considerations, it was completely absent.

— Heru WidodoHighlighting discrepancies in the calculation of economic losses between defendants.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Tempo in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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