Major problem ?

akarta, Supernews – Kenny Wisha Sonda, in-house counsel of PT Energy Equity Epic Sengkang (EEES), is facing charges for alleged criminal acts based on his legal opinion regarding the distribution of oil and gas revenues in the Sengkang Block, South Sulawesi. Kenny was charged with violating Article 372 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph (1) 1 of the Criminal Code. In the trial held at the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday (3/9/2024), Kenny's legal team submitted an exception to the indictment which they considered to be full of baseless assumptions.

Kenny, born on March 11, 1982, was reported by PT Energi Maju Abadi (EMA) for providing a legal opinion stating that revenue from oil and gas operations in the Sengkang Block could not be distributed to EMA. The opinion was based on the fact that EEES still had an obligation to pay off loans to creditors in accordance with the credit agreement agreed in 2014. With this opinion, Kenny is now facing criminal charges as an accomplice in the alleged embezzlement.

Kenny's legal team led by Perry Cornelius P. Sitohang filed an exception to the prosecutor's charges. Perry in the trial emphasized that the indictment submitted by the prosecutor was very inappropriate and full of baseless speculation.

"The Public Prosecutor's Indictment is very wrong and misleading. Its contents are cruel because they are just a collection of exaggerated assumptions, as if the defendant is a heinous criminal who deserves to be punished," Perry said in the trial held before the panel of judges.

The legal counsel also emphasized that the prosecutor's charges regarding Kenny's arrest on July 22, 2024, were not true. Kenny was never arrested, but voluntarily came to the South Jakarta Police investigators to fulfill the summons as a suspect.

"Instead of carrying out the second stage of handover as stated in the summons, the investigators immediately detained the defendant at the South Jakarta Police detention center," Perry explained.

Kenny's detention also raises concerns because in the same case, two other defendants who were the main perpetrators, namely Andi Rianto as President/General Manager of EEES and Elizabeth Minar Tambunan as Finance Controller of EEES, were only given city arrest. Kenny, who only acted as a legal advisor, was detained in prison.

"This is a very bad precedent for the legal counsel profession in Indonesia. If every legal opinion given by a legal counsel can be used as a basis for criminalizing them, then this profession will be very vulnerable to criminalization. Legal counsel who should help companies in managing legal problems can actually be targeted for criminalization by parties who disagree with the opinions they provide," Perry said.

The legal advisory team emphasized that Kenny's role in the company was very limited. As a legal counsel, he was only tasked with providing legal advice to the company and had no authority to make decisions regarding the distribution of the company's income. Kenny only carried out his duties as a lawyer registered with the advocate organization and provided legal opinions in accordance with applicable procedures.

Fredrik J. Pinakunary, one of the members of the legal advisory team, also emphasized that this case is very dangerous for the legal counsel profession in Indonesia.

"This could be a big threat to other legal counsels. If every opinion given could be used as a basis for criminal charges against them, then many legal counsels would think twice about carrying out their duties," said Fredrik.

Fredrik also expressed his gratitude to various parties who provided support to Kenny, including the Indonesian Corporate Counsel Association (ICCA) and alumni of the Faculty of Law, Parahyangan University who continue to pay attention to this case.

The panel of judges chaired by Samuel Ginting together with Raden Ari Muladi and Tumpanuli Marbun will issue an interim decision on the exception filed by Kenny's legal advisory team. The legal team is optimistic that their request to suspend Kenny's detention will be granted by the panel of judges.

"We are optimistic that the Panel of Judges will provide justice for Kenny," said Fredrik.

In the prosecutor's indictment, the case began with a cooperation agreement between PT EEES and PT EMA related to the Sengkang Oil and Gas Block, where EEES has a 51 percent participating interest and EMA has a 49 percent participating interest. Based on the 2014 credit agreement, income from EMA's 49 percent participating interest was used to pay EEES' debt to creditors.

However, EMA claimed that EEES did not distribute the revenue it was entitled to, which ultimately resulted in a loss of US$31,468,649, according to an audit by Public Accounting Firm Tanuwijaya. Kenny, who provided legal advice on the distribution of the revenue, was eventually charged with a crime along with several other officials at EEES.

The trial will continue in the next few days with the agenda of reading the interim decision by the panel of judges.**