MAKI Suspects There Are Private Companies Taking Advantage Of SOEs In The Case Of COVID-19 Social Assistance

Former social minister and suspect in the COVID-19 social assistance case Juliari Batubara. (ANTARA-Puspa P)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI) received information that there are private companies taking advantage of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) related to the provision of social assistance (bansos) at the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was asked to investigate this while developing the case against former Social Minister Juliari Peter Batubara.

"I'm a bit deeper into the case. It is suspected that the one who got the appointment or won this project who was appointed, or ordered this was BUMN, PT X (not real name, ed) but in reality, in practice, it was this private company that implemented it," said Boyamin to reporters, Monday, October 24.

Boyamin did not want to specify the private company or BUMN he was referring to. However, he believes this action will make the country lose money.

Moreover, SOEs should benefit if they win the procurement tender. The private sector, continued Boyamin, should not arbitrarily accept the quota that must be obtained if there is no agreement at the beginning.

"In fact, the biggest profit was taken by this private company. So, it is as if this is an allegation that there is a project broker," he said.

MAKI believes that the KPK will not find it difficult to find evidence of this allegation. Exploration must be done immediately, said Boyamin.

"So this is something that needs to be thoroughly investigated, because in my opinion it should be easier, because the alleged mark-up is there. The proof is that the profits are very large and enjoyed by the private sector, not the winner of the BUMN," he said.

As previously reported, the KPK confirmed that it would continue to develop a corruption case in the procurement of the COVID-19 social assistance that ensnared Juliari. However, they need time to implement.

"It will take time to determine the next legal steps based on the results of the investigation in question," said the Head of the KPK News Section, Ali Fikri, to reporters on Monday, September 5.

Ali did not specify what the KPK had obtained from the investigation process. The reason is that this activity is indeed carried out in secret.

However, he ensured that the search for evidence that confirmed the state losses from the COVID-19 social assistance procurement process continued.

"So far, the investigation is still ongoing," said Ali.

Meanwhile, the Deputy for Enforcement and Execution of the KPK Karyoto some time ago said that his party was still waiting for the results of the audit from the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP). This step is important to find out the state losses caused by the rasuah practice.

As a reminder, this social assistance bribery case began after the KPK carried out a hand arrest operation (OTT) at the Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos). Furthermore, from the operation, former Minister of Social Affairs Juliari Batubara was named a suspect.

In this case, Juliari was sentenced to 12 years in prison for being proven to have accepted bribes related to the procurement of COVID-19 social assistance in the Jabodetabek area in 2020 of up to IDR 14.7 billion.

Apart from Juliari, two of Juliari's former subordinates, namely the former Commitment Making Officer (PPK) of the Ministry of Social Affairs, namely Adi Wahyono and Matheus Joko Santoso are also involved in this case. Adi was found guilty and sentenced to 7 years in prison while Matheus was sentenced to 9 years in prison.