Shares of Singapore’s Wilmar tumble after Indonesian court overturns corruption acquittal
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Wilmar International said in a bourse filing on Sept 25 that Indonesia’s Supreme Court overturned the previous acquittals of the group and two Indonesian palm oil companies.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – Singapore-based global palm oil company Wilmar International has been found guilty of corruption after Indonesia’s Supreme Court overturned its previous acquittal in a graft case involving cooking oil export permits during the shortage crisis in 2021 and 2022.
Founded by Singaporean tycoon Kuok Khoon Hong, the Singapore-listed company said in a bourse filing on Sept 25 that Indonesia’s Supreme Court overturned the previous acquittals of the group and two Indonesian palm oil companies – Permata Hijau and Musim Mas.
The news sent Wilmar’s share price tumbling on Sept 26. The stock slumped as much as 3.8 per cent to the lowest since February 2016 on an intraday basis, before closing down 1.4 per cent at $2.85.
The companies were accused of illegally profiting from the evasion of state-imposed export controls on cooking oil and palm oil.
The controls were implemented to address Indonesia’s cooking oil crisis and domestic palm oil shortage in 2021 and 2022, as global palm oil prices surged.
Specifics of the Indonesian Supreme Court’s grounds of judgment and any financial awards have not been released.
The Indonesian Attorney-General’s Office (AGO) has sought 11.8 trillion rupiah (S$913 million) in compensation and a billion rupiah fine from Wilmar.
Permata Hijau faced a fine of one billion rupiah and was ordered to pay 937 billion rupiah in compensation. Musim Mas was also fined one billion rupiah and ordered to pay 4.8 trillion rupiah in compensation. Suspects in the case were first named in 2022, including a government official and executives of the three companies or their subsidiaries.
In March 2025, the lower court acquitted the three companies of all charges, but by April, the AGO had arrested all four judges handling the case on charges of taking at least US$1.1 million (S$1.4 million) in bribes to arrange a favourable verdict.
In June, Indonesia’s Supreme Court began reviewing the case, as the AGO seized 11.8 trillion rupiah from Wilmar as compensation for state losses arising from the case.
In a statement, the group said: “While Wilmar respects the decision of the Indonesian Supreme Court, it maintains that the actions taken by the Wilmar Respondents, during the period of a shortage of cooking oil in the Indonesian market, were done in compliance with prevailing regulations and in good faith.”
Shares of the counter closed down 0.7 per cent, or two cents, at $2.89 on Sept 25, before the update. THE BUSINESS TIMES
