North Sulawesi Police Detains 3 Suspects Involved In Corruption Funds For Handling The Economic Impact Of COVID-19, State Loss IDR 61 Billion

The three suspects in the alleged corruption case for handling the economic impact of COVID-19 (VIA ANTARA)

SULUT - The North Sulawesi Regional Police (North Sulawesi) revealed a case of alleged corruption in funds for handling the economic impact of COVID-19 at the Food Service and the Regional Secretariat of the North Minahasa Regency for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. In this case, the state suffered a loss of more than Rp. 61 billion.

"The three suspects in this case have been detained," said Head of North Sulawesi Police Public Relations Kombes Jules Abraham Abast in Manado as reported by Antara, Wednesday, February 16.

Abast said that the disclosure and handling of the alleged corruption was based on a report received by the North Sulawesi Regional Police on May 24, 2021, with the location of the case in the Food Service and the Regional Secretariat of the North Minahasa Regency, around March 2020.

The mode in this case is the misuse of funds resulting from refocusing for handling the economic impact of COVID-19. At the time of disbursement of the budget carried out by the Director of CV. Dewi, with the initials SE at the Central SulutGo Bank in Manado, for the 9 stages of the budget disbursement process, was carried out together with the suspect JNM.

After the money was disbursed, all the money was handed over to the suspect JNM and kept in his Honda HRV car.

"For this action, SE gets a fee from each stage of the budget disbursement," he said.

The chronology of events, continued Abast, in 2020 the North Minahasa Regency Government allocated a budget for handling the economic impact of COVID-19 to several OPD (Regional Apparatus Organizations) in which there were funds of Rp. 62,750,000,000, and the Regional Secretariat with total funds of Rp.4,987,000. 000, thus, the total funds amounted to Rp. 67,737,000,000.

At that time the procurement process, using a company called CV. Goddess. However, the company only lent it by providing a fee commitment to the Director of CV with the initials SE by the Head of the Food Service of North Minahasa Regency at that time, with the initials JNM.

That the distribution of food to handle the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not in accordance with the planned goods needs and company notes.

"So based on the PKKN audit by the RI BPKP, the North Sulawesi representative stated that this activity has caused state financial losses of Rp. 61,021,406.385.22," he said.

In handling the case, investigators from the Ditreskrimsus Polda North Sulawesi have also confiscated a number of evidences, namely documents for procurement of goods, documents for disbursement of finance, documents for distributing food to the community from all village government apparatuses in North Minahasa Regency,

Then one unit of a gray Honda HRV car with the police number DB 1312 FJ (which is used as a means of taking and saving money), as well as one plot of land located in Rap-rap Village, Airmadidi District, North Minahasa Regency, covering an area of 15,708 square meters and Certificate of Ownership in the name of the suspect JNM.

Abast said the case involved three suspects, namely, a woman with the initials JNM, an ASN occupation from Tikala Manado, then two men each with the initials MMO, an ASN occupation from Airmadidi Minut, and SE, a private job, a resident of Airmadidi North Minahasa.

The three suspects, he continued, were subject to Articles 2 and/or 3 of Indonesian Law Number 31 of 1999 as amended by Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 20 of 2001 concerning Eradication of Corruption Crimes Jo Article 55, Article 56 of the Criminal Code.

"The threat of punishment is death (artificial weighting because the act was carried out during a non-natural disaster) life imprisonment or imprisonment for a minimum of 4 years and a maximum of 20 years, and/or a fine of at least Rp. 200 million and a maximum of Rp. 1 billion," said Abast. .