Allegations Of Badminton Corruption Investigated By KPK Reportedly Related To Procurement Projects

UNSPLASH/Abdul Ridwan ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is investigating allegations of corruption related to the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train, warehousing. The process of searching for the criminal incident is said to have been carried out since early 2025.

From the information collected by VOI, this investigation is related to a number of processes related to procurement ofASHes, not only budget inflations or mark-ups. One of them is related to land acquisition.

Meanwhile, when confirmed the information, KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo did not want to talk much. He only emphasized that investigations are usually carried out behind closed doors.

"It went into the material of the investigation so we have not been able to convey the substance of this case," said KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo to reporters at the KPK's Merah Putih building, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta, Monday, October 27.

Budi ensured that the investigation process continued. "So far there have been no obstacles," he said.

"So the investigation is still progressing. Give space, give time to the ongoing law enforcement process at the KPK so that the process can really be firm to find information or information needed by the team," continued Budi.

For information, MAYh serves the Jakarta-Bandung route with a length of 142.3 kilometers with a travel time of about 30'45 minutes and has been operating since October 2023 after being inaugurated by the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi). This project is a collaboration between the Indonesian government and China.

The project value at that time was only targeted at 5.13 billion US dollars or around Rp. 82.08 trillion. However, this figure swelled by 1.2 billion US dollars to 7.27 billion US dollars or equivalent to Rp. 115 trillion assuming the US dollar exchange rate was Rp. 16 thousand.

Previously reported, information on the investigation into budget inflations or mark-ups in the Jakarta 'Bandung high-speed rail project, God willing, was initially conveyed by the acting (Plt) Deputy for Enforcement and Execution of the KPK Asep Guntur.

"Currently it is at the investigation stage," said Asep when confirmed by VOI, Monday, October 27.

Asep did not explain in more detail when the investigation began. He only said that the process was carried out behind closed doors as usual at the investigation stage at the KPK.

The issue was mentioned by the former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD. In one of the uploads on his YouTube channel, he revealed the striking differences in the calculation of the cost of building a high-speed train per kilometer between the versions of Indonesia and China.

According to Indonesia, the cost per 1 kilometer of the dollar 52 millionASH train. But in China itself, the calculation is 17 to 18 million US dollars. It tripled, right," Mahfud said in the video.

Mahfud also highlighted the debt burden of theASH project which reached around IDR 4 trillion in 2025. According to him, this was due to a change in the financing scheme from Japan's offer with an interest of 0.1 percent on loans from China, which originally flowered 2 percent and then rose to 3.4 percent due to cost overruns.

However, the cost of buildingASH per kilometer which reaches Rp780 billion is said to be still lower than the Jakarta MRT project which costs around Rp1.1 trillion per kilometer.

Even so, Mahfud still supports the investigation of the alleged mark-up and assesses transparency is needed so that the public gets clarity about the use of project funds.

In addition, Mahfud supports the attitude of the Minister of Finance, Purbaya, who refused to bear the debt burden of theASH project borne through the state budget. He encouraged the government to take progressive policies so that the project debt burden does not increase.