(Reuters) -The Indonesian Attorney General’s Office said it has arrested an employee of global palm oil company Wilmar Group on graft charges related to corruption in obtaining export permits, a day after the firm denied its staff were being investigated.
The announcement came after a string of arrests, including four judges and two lawyers, by the Attorney General’s Office, which says the judges took 60 billion rupiah ($3.57 million) to arrange for a favourable verdict against three companies, including Wilmar.
The office said late on Tuesday that the suspect will be held for 20 days in a Jakarta prison.
Wilmar told Reuters: “We are now assisting with investigations.”
On Monday, the company released a statement saying “investigations so far have not involved Wilmar Group or any of its employees”.
A court had last month acquitted three companies – Wilmar Group, Musim Mas Group, and North Sumatra-based Permata Hijau Group – on charges of misconduct in obtaining export permits in 2022.
When the corruption charges were first brought against the companies, prosecutors were seeking fines and payments up to 11 trillion rupiah ($653.4 million).
($1 = 16,835.0000 rupiah)
(Reporting by Dewi Kurniawati. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
