Three years ago the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) announced an investigation into the shortage of cooking oil, which caused an unreasonable price increase. The investigation later managed to uncover a corruption scheme. Five individuals were named suspects and three groups of companies were implicated. Since the trial started, we had mentioned that the Government also had a portion of the blame in this situation, so it was not surprising that a few weeks ago the Panel of Judges decided to release the three groups of companies from criminal charges. Unfortunately, this decision turned out to be flawed. The AGO found a conspiracy and bribery mediated by the current Chief of the South Jakarta District Court and the parties involved were arrested during the weekend. Apart from the case, what we are witnessing now is a reminder for all parties to be more careful in choosing legal counsels. To subscribe please click here
