Overview

• Chief judge Muhammad Arif Nuryanta and two other judges have been arrested for allegedly accepting bribes to influence rulings in a high-profile palm oil export permit case.
• The judges are accused of receiving 60 billion rupiah ($3.57 million) from lawyers representing Wilmar Group, Musim Mas Group, and Permata Hijau Group, which were acquitted last month of misconduct charges.
• Investigators allege that bribes were distributed among the judges to ensure a verdict favorable to the companies, despite evidence of permit violations.
• A court clerk and two lawyers have also been apprehended, highlighting a broader network of corruption within the judicial system.
• The arrests follow scrutiny of Indonesia's judicial and regulatory practices, particularly after controversial export controls were imposed in 2022 to stabilize domestic cooking oil prices.