Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says the government will not interfere in legal matters pertaining to Indonesian oil tycoon Riza Chalid, who is a suspect in a corruption case related to fuel imports.
“Let the legal process in Indonesia continue,” he was quoted as saying by Indonesian weekly Tempo.
However, he did not explicitly respond to questions regarding Riza’s presence in Malaysia.
Anwar admitted to several editors-in-chief in Jakarta on July 29 that he had met Riza, who is believed to be in Malaysia.
On July 16, acting Indonesian immigration director-general Yuldi Yusman said immigration records showed that Riza had been in Malaysia since Feb 6, after departing from Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
Indonesian authorities are currently working with immigration officials in Malaysia to confirm Riza’s whereabouts.
Earlier this month, The Jakarta Post reported that Riza had been named as a suspect in a corruption case linked to fuel imports at subsidiaries of Pertamina, the state-owned oil and gas giant, which registered trillions in losses.
Indonesian investigators said they found enough evidence to name the businessman as a suspect in their probe which has seen seven people arrested, including Riza’s son, Kerry Adrianto.
