The head of Indonesia’s energy regulatory body was arrested for allegedly receiving bribes, officials from the country’s anti-corruption agency said on Wednesday.
Rudi Rubiandini was arrested on Tuesday along with two employees of a private company at his house in Jakarta, where 400,000 dollars was confiscated, said Johan Budi, spokesman for the Corruption Eradication Commission.
“Those arrested are still being questioned intensively to determine their status,” he said. “Eradicating corruption in the oil and gas sector is our priority for this year.” The regulatory agency, called the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business, said it was unaffected by Rubiandini’s arrest.
“The upstream oil and gas industry is very strategic,” agency secretary Gde Pradnyana said. “Therefore, the activities should not be disrupted and the situation in which a vacuum of activities exists should be avoided.”
Indonesia was a member of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries but dropped out in 2008 after it became a net oil importer. It has since struggled to reverse declining oil output.
