Son of Indonesia’s ‘Gasoline Godfather’ convicted in $21b graft case
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The investigation began in 2025, with the authorities detaining more than a dozen executives from energy company Pertamina.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
JAKARTA – The son of a reclusive oil merchant who dominated Indonesia’s fuel trade for decades received a prison sentence as part of a US$17 billion (S$21.5 billion) corruption case centred on the country’s state-owned energy firm.
Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza was sentenced to 15 years in jail on Feb 26 by a panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court, according to a statement from the Attorney-General’s Office (AGO). He must also pay a one billion rupiah (S$75,000) fine and compensate the state for losses totalling 2.9 trillion rupiah, or face his assets being seized.
Under Indonesian law, defendants have seven days to file appeals. An attorney for Kerry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
His sentencing is the most high-profile conviction yet in a sprawling graft probe into state-owned energy company Pertamina, which has already seen six of its former executives receive custodial sentences.
Kerry is the son of Muhammad Riza Chalid, an oil trader who for years handled a vast amount of Indonesia’s oil product imports, earning him the industry moniker of “Gasoline Godfather”.
Indonesia’s ‘Gasoline Godfather’ targeted in vast graft probe
The investigation began early in 2025, with the authorities detaining more than a dozen executives from Pertamina, its subsidiaries and trading firms as part of a broader probe that included the questioning of more than 250 witnesses, including in neighbouring Singapore.
By midyear, the authorities had also detained an employee of Trafigura Group, identified only by initials and title.
The AGO estimated associated state losses in the case – covering direct financial losses, broader economic impact and illicit gains – at 285 trillion rupiah.
Riza Chalid was named a suspect in the Pertamina probe but was never detained by the authorities after failing to respond to three summonses. Officials in 2025 said immigration records show he left Indonesia for Malaysia, and Interpol has since issued a so-called Red Notice for him.
Riza Chalid’s son was imprisoned in connection to his shareholding of Orbital Terminal Merak (OTM), which prosecutors said was unnecessarily leased by Pertamina in a way that caused state losses. The AGO previously said Riza Chalid himself was the ultimate beneficial owner of OTM. BLOOMBERG
