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Finance
Indonesia’s financial sector has been flourishing over the past half decade. The COVID-19 pandemic period, while being a time of austerity for most sectors, led to revolutionary innovations in Indonesia’s financial services industry, particularly in fintech. From December 2020 to December 2022, total assets of the fintech sector grew by 48.54 percent from 2020 to 2022. This growing trend continued even after the pandemic lockdowns ended, as total assets in fintech grew by 30.8 percent from December 2022 to December 2023.
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Finance
Indonesia’s financial sector has been flourishing over the past half decade. The COVID-19 pandemic period, while being a time of austerity for most sectors, led to revolutionary innovations in Indonesia’s financial services industry, particularly in fintech. From December 2020 to December 2022, total assets of the fintech sector grew by 48.54 percent from 2020 to 2022. This growing trend continued even after the pandemic lockdowns ended, as total assets in fintech grew by 30.8 percent from December 2022 to December 2023.
With fintech paving the way forward, traditional banking followed suit by revolutionizing its services. From 2022 to 2023, the banking industry’s fund distribution increased by 6.28 percent, source of funds increased by 6.33 percent, and total assets in the industry grew by 6.98 percent, reaching a total of US$8.22 trillion. Moreover, even regional banks have been benefitting from this wave of innovation. For the same period from 2022 to 2023, the regional banking sector saw a 7.67 percent in distributed funds, an 8.08 percent increase in source of funds, and a 7.52 percent increase in total assets, reaching a total of US$137.96 billion.
Innovations in Indonesia’s finance sector extend beyond financial services. On September 2023, the Indonesian monetary authority, Bank Indonesia (BI), introduced three pro-market monetary instruments that function as short-term fixed income securities with high coupon rates. The three instruments, SRBI, SUVBI, and SUVBI, were able to collect Rp 409 trillion (US$25.2 billion), US$2.31 billion, and US$387 million, respectively.
Particularly in the case of the SRBI, this instrument represented an innovative way to attract capital flow from abroad during a period of high credit costs and slow investment. Approximately 20.77 percent, or Rp 85.02 trillion (US$ 5.26 billion), of the total outstanding SRBI were owned by non-Indonesian residents, underscoring the SRBI’s success as a monetary instrument.
Even when compared to other countries in the same region, the Indonesian finance sector stands out for its stability against fluctuations. Throughout 2023, the global cost of credit was high due to hawkish Fed policies made to curb US inflation, resulting in a stagnation of capital flow on a global scale. Entering the second quarter of 2024, the composite index of many Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Thailand recorded price decreases compared to the same period last year, reaching -3.96 percent and -13.9 percent on the Straits Times Index (STI) and the Bangkok SET index, respectively. Meanwhile, the Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index (JKSE) recorded a price increase of 5.18 percent for the same one-year period.
In summary, the Indonesian financial sector stands out for its stability and consistency, maintaining growth through innovation even during periods of austerity or global uncertainty. This consistency is also reflected in its GDP, which grew by 7.4 percent from 2022 to 2023, contributing roughly 4.16 percent to the national GDP in 2023.
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The progress in the corruption case involving crude oil procurement at state oil and gas company Pertamina for the 2018–2023 period deserves appreciation. Yet this development may represent only the tip of the iceberg in Indonesia’s law enforcement efforts. The sentences handed down to the suspects are considered mild and lack deterrence effect, while the main actor behind the scheme remains elusive amid the recurring scandals surrounding Pertamina.
Investigators with the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) began probing the case in October 2024. After questioning 96 witnesses and two experts, and seizing 969 documents and 45 pieces of electronic evidence, prosecutors named nine suspects in February 2025.
Six suspects were drawn from the high-level ranks of Pertamina’s subsidiaries. These were PT Pertamina Patra Niaga president director Riva Siahaan, vice president of trading and other business Maya Kusmaya and VP of trading product Edward Corne; PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional VP of feedstock management Agus Purwono and VP of product optimization Sani Dinar Saifuddin; and PT Pertamina International Shipping president director Yoki Firnandi.
Also standing trial were suspects representing the private sector: Muhammad Kerry Adrianto Riza, the beneficial owner of PT Navigator Khatulistiwa; Dimas Werhaspati, a commissioner of PT Navigator Khatulistiwa and PT Jenggala Maritim; and Gading Ramadhan Joedo, a commissioner of PT Jenggala Maritim and president director of PT Orbit Terminal Merak.
According to the AGO, the alleged corruption caused Rp 25.4 trillion (US$1.5 billion) in direct state losses. Furthermore, it triggered an estimated Rp 171.9 trillion in broader economic damage stemming from inflated fuel prices, which placed a massive burden on the national economy and public purchasing power.
After more than a year of legal proceedings, the Jakarta Corruption Court handed down verdicts against the nine defendants on Feb. 26. However, all sentences were lighter than the penalties sought by the state prosecutors. For instance, Kerry was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay a Rp 1 billion fine plus Rp 2.9 trillion in restitution. This fell short of the 18-year sentence and Rp 10.4 trillion in restitution sought by prosecutors.
On March 2, the AGO announced it would appeal the verdicts. Prosecutors argue that the court failed to adequately consider the staggering broader economic losses and the limited restitution obligations imposed on the defendants.
Beyond the lenient sentencing, the puzzle remains incomplete because the alleged mastermind behind the scheme is still at large: oil trader Mohammad Riza Chalid, who is Kerry’s father.
Investigators allege that as early as 2012, Riza pressured Pertamina to lease the Merak fuel terminal, operated by Orbit Terminal Merak, in Banten, without a competitive tender process. This lobbying reportedly spanned from 2012 to 2014.
Riza was officially named a suspect on July 10, 2025, and placed on the AGO’s wanted list a month later. Following international coordination, Interpol issued a Red Notice for him on Jan. 23. His current whereabouts are believed to be in Malaysia.
Riza is no ordinary figure in the country’s oil and gas landscape. Known for years as the "gasoline godfather", he was widely believed to wield immense influence over Pertamina Energy Trading Ltd (Petral), the company’s former trading arm. With a long history of connections to political elites, he was previously linked to the 2015 “papa minta saham” scandal that shook the foundations of Indonesian politics, evident in the arrest of then-House of Representatives speaker Setya Novanto.
Bringing Riza to justice is crucial to uncovering the modus operandi behind his alleged intervention in Pertamina’s governance. More broadly, prosecuting figures who operate behind the scenes remains the ultimate challenge for Indonesian law enforcement.
This is not an isolated case. Pertamina has been infested with corruption since the oil boom of the 1970s, when it served as both regulator and player in a lucrative industry. While several former president directors have been sentenced for graft, cases like that of Karen Agustiawan remain controversial for blurring the line between criminal corruption and legitimate business decisions.
Law enforcers continue to pursue multiple fronts, including the investigation into liquefied natural gas (LNG) procurement (2013–2020), which caused an estimated Rp 2.1 trillion in losses, and the mismanagement of pension funds at Pertamina, totaling roughly Rp 1.4 trillion.
The recent verdict is a milestone, but it also underscores a systemic problem. Without stronger accountability, total transparency and the political will to pursue the power players behind the curtain, corruption risks remaining a recurring feature of Indonesia’s energy sector.
