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Jakarta corruption judge appointed commissioner of Pertamina subsidiary

Source
Jakarta Post - July 3, 2020

Moch Fiqih Prawira Adjie, Jakarta – Anwar, an ad hoc corruption judge at the Jakarta Corruption Court, has been appointed to serve as one of the commissioners for PT Pertamina Patra Niaga, a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina.

Bambang Nurcahyono, spokesperson for the Central Jakarta District Court that supervises the corruption court, said Anwar had been tapped as a commissioner during Pertamina Patra Niaga's shareholder meeting on June 12.

Information on the company's website also listed the judge as a commissioner.

Anwar had decided to step down from serving the court after his appointment, Bambang said.

"He has submitted his resignation as an ad hoc corruption judge through then-Central Jakarta District Court chief Yanto," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

"Since then, he no longer attended any trial and handed over all ongoing corruption trials to Yanto. He was only at the court to finish the administrative requirements."

Pertamina vice president of corporate communication Fajriyah Usman also told the Post on Friday that Anwar had dropped his judgeship.

However, Bambang said that Anwar was still waiting for a decision letter from the Supreme Court regarding his resignation.

As of Friday, the Central Jakarta District Court's website still listed Anwar as an ad hoc judge.

Supreme Court spokesperson Andi Samsan Nganro said he had yet to receive notification of Anwar's resignation from the human resource department, adding that he would look into the matter further.

"The President appoints judges, so, of course, bureaucratic procedures for resignations require some time," he told the Post on Friday.

Andi asserted that judges were strictly forbidden from holding positions as commissioners of companies, noting the "potential conflict of interest" and "interfere with judges' independence".

Judicial Commission head Jaja Ahmad Jayus also told the Post that he would be looking into Anwar's appointment as commissioner. "The commission is looking into the matter to find out the truth."

The appointment came amid reports issued by the Indonesian Ombudsman, whose investigation found that 397 state officials, including active members of the police and military, sit as commissioners of state-owned enterprises.

During his career as a judge, Anwar adjudicated several high-profile cases, including the e-ID graft case that implicated former House of Representatives speaker Setya Novanto in 2013. He was also a member of the panel of judges that handled a graft case implicating former Pertamina president director Karen Galaila Agustiawan.

Karen was sentenced to eight years' of imprisonment by the Jakarta Corruption Court on June 10, 2019, after being convicted in a case involving Pertamina's investment in the Basker Manta Gummy (BMG) Block, Australia, in 2009.

During one of the trials, Anwar reportedly expressed a dissenting opinion to the other judges by declaring Karen not guilty. The Supreme Court later acquitted the former president director from all graft charges on March 10 this year.

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/03/jakarta-corruption-judge-appointed-commissioner-of-pertamina-subsidiary.html

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