PPE COVID Corruption, Former Head Of Health Crisis Of The Ministry Of Health Sueded 4 Years In Prison

JAKARTA - Former Head of the Health Crisis Center of the Ministry of Health Budi Badya was sentenced to 4 years in prison in a case of alleged corruption in the procurement of COVID-19 personal protective equipment from the Ministry of Health in 2020.

The Public Prosecutor (JPU) of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Sandy Septi Murhanta Hidayat said the former Head of the Health Crisis Center of the Ministry of Health Budi fire is believed to have been legally and convincingly proven according to law guilty of committing a criminal act of corruption in the procurement of COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE).

"This is as regulated and subject to criminal penalties in the first indictment," Sandy said at the trial of reading the indictment at the Jakarta Corruption Court (Tipikor), Friday, May 16, as reported by ANTARA.

Not only imprisonment, the former Head of the Health Crisis Center of the Ministry of Health Budi Badya is also required to be subject to a fine of Rp. 200 million, provided that if the fine is not paid, it will be replaced (subsider) with imprisonment for 3 months.

Apart from Budi, there were also two other defendants who were tried at the same time and it was believed that the Public Prosecutor together was involved in corruption in the COVID-19 procurement of personal protective equipment (PPD) case, namely the President Director of PT Energi Kita Indonesia (EKI) Satrio Wibowo and the President Director of PT Permana Putra Mandiri (PPM) Ahmad Taufik.

Satrio was charged with imprisonment for 14 years and 10 months in prison, while Ahmad was in prison for 14 years and 4 months. The two defendants were also charged with a fine of Rp. 1 billion each, subsidiary to 6 months in prison.

Not only that, both Satrio and Ahmad, were also charged with additional punishment in the form of paying compensation of Rp59.98 billion each, subsidiary to 4 years in prison and Rp224.18 billion, subsidiary to 6 years in prison.

In the corruption case in the procurement of COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE), three defendants allegedly cost the state around Rp319.69 billion. State losses occurred as a result of the actions of the defendants who enriched Satrio by Rp59.98 billion, Ahmad Rp224.19 billion, PT Yoon Shin Jaya Rp25.25 billion, and PT GA Indonesia Rp14.62 billion.

The three defendants were accused of participating in negotiating the price of PPE totaling 170 thousand pairs without using an order letter, negotiating prices and signing PPE orders of five million pairs, and receiving money loans from BNPB to PT PPM and PT EKI amounting to Rp10 billion to pay 170 thousand pairs of PPE without any order letter and payment support documents.

Then, the three defendants were also suspected of participating in receiving payments for 1.01 million pairs of BOHO brand PPE worth Rp. 711.28 billion for PT PPM and PT EKI, even though PT EKI did not have qualifications as providers of similar goods/services in government agencies and did not have a license for distribution of medical devices (IPAK).

In addition, PT EKI and PT PPM are also suspected of not preparing and submitting proof of supporting price reasonableness to PPK so that it violates the principle of procurement of government goods/services in handling emergencies, namely effective, transparent, and accountable.