Former Ombudsman Member Y

The Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) has officially named YHK, identified as Yeka Hendra Fatika, a former member of the Indonesian Ombudsman for the 2021-2026 period, as a suspect in an obstruction of justice case. Yeka is alleged to have hindered legal proceedings related to the 2022 corruption case involving crude palm oil (CPO) export facilities.

This complex case was previously heard by the Central Jakarta District Court, stemming directly from an Ombudsman’s Audit Report (LHP). This report scrutinized Minister of Trade Regulation Number 8 of 2022, a crucial policy primarily governing the domestic market obligation (DMO) for CPO exports.

Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, the Director of Investigation at the Deputy Attorney General for Special Criminal Acts, elaborated that the Ombudsman’s LHP ultimately prompted the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) to revoke Minister of Trade Regulation Number 8 of 2022. Concurrently, this very regulation served as the basis for the Attorney General’s Office to prosecute the Wilmar Group, Musim Mas Group, and Permata Hijau Group. However, the Central Jakarta District Court subsequently acquitted all three companies at that time.

“The Jakarta State Administrative Court’s ruling was instrumental in the defense memorandums of the three corporations, leading the panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court to issue an acquittal, or onslag,” Syarief stated during a press conference at his office in Jakarta on Monday (May 25).

Subsequently, the Supreme Court definitively ruled that the Wilmar Group, Musim Mas Group, and Permata Hijau Group were legally and convincingly involved in the 2022 CPO export facility corruption. Consequently, these three companies were collectively ordered to pay a colossal compensatory fine of Rp 17.7 trillion.

Syarief highlighted at least two distinct unlawful acts committed by Yeka in this intricate case. The first alleged misconduct involves the significant alteration of the investigation’s focus. Syarief noted that Yeka initially commenced an investigation into the scarcity of cooking oil on March 24, 2022.

However, Yeka is now suspected of illicitly shifting the investigation’s focus to maladministration purportedly caused by Minister of Trade Regulation Number 8 of 2022. This alleged change in focus ultimately led to Yeka’s LHP being deemed the catalyst for the Ministry of Trade’s decision to revoke the domestic market obligation (DMO) regulation.

The second unlawful act attributed to Yeka concerns the unauthorized disclosure of the LHP to parties outside the government. Syarief explained that Yeka’s investigation originated from his own initiative, meaning the Ombudsman’s LHP should exclusively be provided to the subject of the investigation, which was the Ministry of Trade itself.

Nevertheless, Syarief discovered that Yeka had unlawfully provided this critical LHP to the legal representatives of the three corporations implicated: Marcella Santoso and the Arianto Arnaldo Law Firm.

Consequently, Syarief posits that the Ombudsman’s LHP was directly authored by Yeka. Furthermore, the very creation of this LHP is suspected of being unlawful, as it allegedly involved improper procedures.

Syarief emphasized that Yeka’s designation as a suspect followed a thorough examination of witnesses and various pieces of evidence. A key piece of evidence cited was the bank statement belonging to an associate of Yeka, which purportedly revealed a suspicious flow of funds originating from the Wilmar Group.

As a result, Yeka has been charged under two articles pertaining to obstruction of justice: Article 20 of Law Number 31 of 1999 and Article 21 of Law Number 1 of 2023. He now faces a maximum sentence of 18 years in prison and a substantial fine of up to Rp 800 million.

“The suspect is currently being detained for the next 20 days at the Salemba Detention Center, a branch of the Attorney General’s Office,” he concluded.