International police are now on the trail of Indonesian oil magnate Mohammad Riza Chalid after a global alert was issued over his alleged role in a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal tied to the country’s state oil operations.
Authorities confirmed that Interpol placed Chalid on its red notice list on January 23, effectively asking police agencies around the world to find and detain him pending legal proceedings in Indonesia. A red notice is typically used when a suspect is believed to be outside the issuing country and may attempt to evade arrest by crossing borders.
Chalid, 66, popularly nicknamed the “gasoline godfather” because of his long influence in the fuel import business, is under investigation for alleged corruption activities connected to Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-owned oil company. The probe covers transactions and contracts handled between 2018 and 2023.
Investigators accuse him and other suspects of arranging crude oil imports at inflated prices from foreign suppliers instead of prioritising domestic sources as required by Indonesian law. The case also includes allegations of money laundering and irregularities surrounding an oil facility lease deal.
Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office puts the suspected financial damage at about 285 trillion rupiah — roughly 17 billion dollars — making it one of the largest corruption cases in the country’s energy sector. So far, at least 18 people, including senior Pertamina officials and Chalid’s son, Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza, have been named in the investigation.
An official of Interpol Indonesia National Central Bureau said security agencies already have intelligence on Chalid’s whereabouts but are not releasing details publicly. Indonesian immigration authorities had earlier cancelled his passport in October as part of efforts to restrict his movement.
The case adds to a growing list of high-profile anti-graft prosecutions in Indonesia, where officials say enforcement actions have intensified in recent years following several major public sector corruption convictions.
