MAKI Supports AGO In Finishing The Case Of The Ministry Of Defense's Satellite Project

ILLUSTRATION BY VOI

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI) supports the Attorney General's Office in dismantling and resolving cases of alleged corruption in the procurement of a satellite orbit slot 123 degrees East Longitude at the Ministry of Defense (Kemenhan).

"MAKI fully supports the efforts of Pak Mahfud MD and the Attorney General's Office in their efforts to uncover allegations of corruption in satellite procurement at the Ministry of Defense," said MAKI Coordinator Boyamin Saiman, quoted by Antara, Sunday, January 16.

According to Boyamin, if the case involves elements of the TNI, the Attorney General's Office will certainly have no problems uncovering cases that cost the state around Rp800 billion, because they have a Junior Attorney General for Military Crimes (JAMPidmil) who can form a connectivity team.

"There is already JAMPidmil so this should be able to immediately complete the investigation process which, if necessary, will work with a connectivity system and POM TNI. I am sure that the AGO has clearly carried out a plan that will not face any problems,” said Boyamin.

With the JAMPidmil, Boyamin said, the Attorney General's Office should have handled and resolved the case quickly, by finding two pieces of evidence, immediately identifying the suspect, and immediately transferring him to the court.

"Of course, I will also oversee how this process can be handled quickly," said Boyamin.

Regarding the alleged corruption in the case, Boyamin said that there were three unlawful acts, firstly, the absence of a budget, so there was no planning and there was no project entry list or budget implementation list (DIPA).

The absence of such budgeting, continued Boyamin, made the subsequent processes suspected of being deviant or even illegal or illegal in relation to the alleged payments that had been made of around 20 million USD or around Rp280 billion, which could potentially harm up to Rp800 billion.

Then, there are allegations that there is no budget and it is suspected that the satellite project is not functioning optimally.

"Is it suspected that the satellite is not functioning optimally for what reason, if I'm not mistaken it is just a satellite that is spinning but its entire function cannot be used," said Boyamin.

The third one, Boyamin continued, is related to authority. The actual authority to fill the orbital slot of 123 degrees east longitude is the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Kominfo).

Regarding this authority, Boyamin urged the Attorney General's Office to investigate it, because if the orbital slot of 123 degrees east longitude is not under the authority of the Ministry of Defense, then it is reasonable to suspect that there was an inflated fund for the satellite procurement.

"If it is not the authority of the Ministry of Defense, then it should be stated that it is not its authority. Apart from this, there is no budget available and it could also happen that the value can also be suspected of having a markup because whatever this tender could be, the tender also has problems with the procurement because the tender appears to be," said Boyamin.

The Attorney General's Office has raised the status of the alleged corruption case in the procurement of a satellite orbit slot 123 degrees east by the Ministry of Defense (Kemhan) for the 2015 period to the investigation stage on January 14, 2022. A total of 11 witnesses have been questioned regarding the case, besides investigators have also obtained documentary evidence to strengthen the investigation.