Pertamina's ex-finance director questioned over tanker sales

State owned oil and gas company Pertamina's former finance director Alfred Hadrianus Rohimone was questioned on Wednesday by the anticorruption commission KPK for his involvement in the alleged corruption on the sales of the company's two giant tankers in late 2004.

The probe against Pertamina's former boss was part of the commission's reinvestigation over the controversial sales of the two tankers following the issuance of the Supreme Court's verdict which upheld the decision of the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU).

But when asked by reporters, Alfred said that the charge was groundless and the sales were made to cope with Pertamina's growing financial problem due to the increase in the crude oil prices.

In addition to Alfred, KPK had also questioned Pertamina's two former president directors including Baihaki Hakim and Ariffi Nawawi as well as former director for development Enteng E. Salam on the sales of the two tankers.

The verdict issued by Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) which ordered the Singapore-based financial advisor Goldman Sachs, PT Equinox, an Indonesian shipping company that served as a Pertamina agent, and the tender winner, Bermuda-based Frontline Ltd, a shipping company to pay total of $61.27 billion in fines to the state as well as Rp 180 billion (US$19.4 million) in penalties.

According to KPPU, Pertamina and its three business partners were guilty of colluding in the sales of two of Pertmina's giant oil tankers. (*)