Indonesian oil tycoon allegedly involved in corruption case not currently in S'pore: MFA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has denied that wanted Indonesian oil tycoon Muhammad Riza Chalid is currently residing in Singapore.

Riza is currently being hunted by Indonesia's Attorney General's Office (AGO) on suspicion of being involved in a high-profile fuel corruption case, and was speculated to be living in Singapore.

"Our immigration records show that Muhammad Riza Chalid is not in Singapore and has not entered Singapore for some time,” an MFA spokesperson said on Jul. 16, in response to media queries.

Pertamina corruption

Riza, a beneficial owner of Indonesian petroleum firms PT Tangki Merak and PT Orbit Terminal Merak (OTM), was among the nine additional suspects named by the AGO on Jul. 10 as being involved in the Pertamina corruption case.

The case, centred around Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina, came to light in Feb. 2025.

7 individuals, including four top officials within the PT Pertamina Group, were arrested on suspicion of adulterating crude oil and refinery products between 2018 and 2023, intending to increase the price of imported crude oil.

Riza's son Kerry Adrianto, the beneficial owner of a private oil and gas shipping company, was among the seven arrested.

Violation of state regulations

They were allegedly part of a scheme to market the domestically-produced Pertalite oil under the more profitable Pertamax brand, achieved by blending Pertamax gasoline with the former much lower-grade fuel, Jakarta Globe reported.

The officials then allegedly claimed that the crude oil produced by contractors in Indonesia were not up to standard, which was found to be untrue.

Subsequently, the locally produced "substandard" crude oil was exported, and crude oil and fuel with "significantly higher prices" was imported.

Under Indonesian law, Pertamina is expected to prioritise domestic crude oil production over importing it, according to Indonesia Business Post.

The illegal transactions reportedly resulted in an estimated total state loss of Rp$193.7 trillion (S$15.3 billion).

The four Pertamina officials were found to have collaborated with brokers, who earned high-paying procurement contracts in the process.

"This case involves a deliberate scheme to manipulate domestic oil supply and import processes for illegal financial gains," an AGO spokesperson said after the first seven arrests.

9 more suspects

On Jul. 10, AGO said they had found sufficient evidence to name nine more suspects involved in the case, including Riza and six former executives at Pertamina and its subsidiaries, Reuters said.

Riza had allegedly made a deal with Pertamina to lease one of his company's fuel terminal by intervening in Pertamina's governance policy, then scraped the terminal's asset ownership scheme in the contract and inflated its value, AGO reports said.

He is suspected to have colluded with a vice president and marketing and trading director at Pertamina.

Not in Singapore

Eight of the suspects were arrested on Jul. 10, barring Riza, who AGO investigators said is believed to be residing in Singapore.

"We have been coordinating with our representatives in Singapore to locate and bring him in," investigation director Abdul Qohar said during a press briefing, adding that AGO intends to utilise a treaty between Singapore and Indonesia to extradite Riza.

However, MFA released a statement on Jul. 16 confirming that Riza is not currently in Singapore.

They promised to offer assistance to the investigations, nonetheless, should the need arise.

"If officially requested, Singapore will provide the necessary assistance to Indonesia, within the ambit of our laws and international obligations.”

Top images via Pertamina & University of Melbourne.