Agencies, Jakarta – Interpol issued a red notice for the arrest of one of Indonesia's biggest oil tycoons over a $17 billion corruption scandal, police said late Sunday.
Mohammad Riza Chalid, 66, nicknamed the "gasoline godfather", is wanted in Indonesia for his alleged involvement in corruption at state-owned oil company Pertamina between 2018 and 2023, including for money laundering and manipulating a lease agreement.
Untung Widyatmoko, secretary of Interpol's Indonesia National Central Bureau, said a red notice had been issued by Interpol on January 23.
"We can't specify exactly where he is, but we already know," he said.
The notice was sent to Interpol's 196 member countries to request law enforcement worldwide help locate and provisionally arrest Riza.
In July, Riza, his son, Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza and several of Pertamina's high-ranking officials were named in the corruption case.
They are accused of working together to import crude oil from overseas suppliers at higher prices rather than source it domestically as mandated by Indonesian law, according to the Attorney General's Office (AGO).
Riza's Indonesian passport was revoked in October, according to the country's immigration office.
In September last year, the National Police submitted a request to Interpol headquarters in France to issue a Red Notice for business tycoon Riza.
The AGO has arrested 17 suspects in the case so far, including senior Pertamina officials and Riza's son Kerry, the beneficial owner of a private oil and gas shipping company allegedly involved in the import scheme.
An official with Immigration and Corrections Ministry has said Riza was thought to be living in Malaysia after fleeing Indonesia during the AGO's first wave of arrests in February.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim acknowledged that he knew and had met Riza, but stressed that his government would not interfere in any ongoing legal procedures.