Detained CPI workers file lawsuit questioning detention

Four employees of PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI), who currently are being detained by the Attorney General?s Office (AGO) on alleged corruption charges, have filed a pre-trial lawsuit to the South Jakarta District Court to challenge the legality of their detention.

The workers, who face charges of being implicated in the corruption case related to the bioremediation project in Sumatra, filed the lawsuit to question their detention, said a company statement made available to petromindo.com on Wednesday.

The statement said the lawsuit was submitted because of the fact that no losses were recorded on part of the state with regard to the mentioned bioremediation project, and there has been continued cooperation during the case investigation, as well as a guarantee from PT CPI and its workers.

AGO has detained the four CPI workers since September 26. AGO had earlier named seven suspects in the corruption case, including five PT CPI workers and two workers of PT Green Planet Indonesia and PT Sumigita Jaya, which is the contractor of the project. CPI has since the beginning denied any wrongdoings and denounced the arrest.

?PT CPI and its workers have been cooperating in an open and transparent manner during investigations by the AGO. We deeply regret the fact that our workers have been detained. Any detention of workers and executives who have worked professionally and done their jobs in accordance with the existing regulations and company rules is certainly something that any company will regret,? Yanto Sianipar, Vice President of Policy Government and Public Affairs at CPI, said in a statement issued in September following the arrest,

The company said the bioremediation project is a successful environmental-management project, which has been approved and monitored by the government. The investigation into the project by the AGO runs in conflict with rules of works in the oil and gas industry in accordance with the production sharing contract (PSC). Under the PSC, all projects that can be realized and deserve cost recovery are put under the control of BPMIGAS and state audit agencies (BPK/BPKP) and governed by civil law, not criminal law.

Moreover, all costs related to the bioremediation project carried out by PT CPI are not included in the cost recovery and, instead, has been wholly covered by PT CPI, meaning no state money that has been used for the project, the company added.

Editing by Dadan Wijaksana