Indonesia Detains Three Judges Over Palm Oil Bribery Scandal
Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office has detained three judges—Agam Syarif Baharuddin, Ali Muhtarom, and Djuyamto—over allegations of accepting bribes to acquit firms in a high-profile illegal palm oil export case.
The judges allegedly received over 22.5 billion rupiah ($1.5 million) to favor Wilmar Group, Permata Hijau Group, and Musim Mas Group, despite their involvement in violating a 2022 export ban.
The arrests raise the number of suspects in the case to seven, including court officials and defense attorneys. The AGO said the scandal caused state losses of $10.9 million during Indonesia’s cooking oil crisis.
