JAKARTA, Legal Literacy - The Attorney General's Office has begun tracing the assets of 11 suspects in the alleged corruption case of irregularities in crude palm oil (CPO) exports, which were allegedly disguised as palm oil mill effluent (POME) exports in the 2022–2024 period.

The Director of Investigation at the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus), Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, stated that asset tracing measures were taken immediately after the determination of suspects. "Starting today, we will immediately trace their assets... starting today, we will begin blocking, confiscating, and so on," said Syarief on Tuesday, February 10, 2026.

Modus Operandi: CPO Exports Claimed as POME to Reduce Taxes

In the construction of the case, the suspects are alleged to have manipulated the classification/type of exports so that CPO exports appeared to be POME exports. This practice was allegedly carried out because the export tax/levy on POME is lower, resulting in a decrease in state revenue.

The Attorney General's Office estimates state financial losses to be in the range of Rp 10 trillion to Rp 14 trillion, which is said to stem from the decline in tax value due to the export manipulation.

Three Suspects are State Administrators, the Rest are Private

Of the total 11 suspects, three are said to be from elements of state administrators, including officials within the Directorate General of Customs and Excise and the Ministry of Industry, while the rest are from the private sector/companies.