Find IDR 1.94 Billion Of COVID Mask Budget Deviations, NTB BPKP Investigate Elements Due To

Murals depict residents obeying the prokes wearing masks on the walls of the Wonokromo Street area, Surabaya, in March 2020. (Between-Moch A)

NTB - The Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) Representative of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) found a budget deviation of Rp1.94 billion in the 2020 COVID-19 prevention mask procurement project.

Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Mataram City Police, Police Commissioner I Made Yogi Purusa Utama, said the budget irregularities were a conclusion from the results of the exposure of the NTB BPKP case with police investigators.

"So, from the results of the case exposure at the investigation stage with BPKP, it was concluded that there were irregularities which resulted in a potential temporary state loss of Rp. 1.94 billion," said Yogi in Mataram, NTB, Tuesday, June 4, which was confiscated by Antara.

BPKP in the conclusion of case exposure with police investigators also stated that the evidence from the results of the investigation was quite reliable and relevant.

With this conclusion, he continued, BPKP has stated that it is ready to follow up on the audit request for calculating state financial losses from police investigators.

"Furthermore, BPKP will conduct a review to see the causal relationship due to irregularities and the emergence of indications of state losses," he said.

The conclusion of the case exposure results with BPKP NTB, he said, took place on February 19, 2024. Yogi confirmed that after the exposure with BPKP, investigators had submitted all the audit needs for calculating state financial losses.

"So, in this case we have finished, we are just waiting for the results from the BPKP, because more than 100 witnesses have been examined, including experts from the LKPP (Government Procurement Policy Institute). All documents related to this case have also been collected," he said.

However, Yogi added that until now investigators have not received any progress information on the results of the case exposure.

He did not deny that such conditions caused a slow impression in handling the case.

As an effort by the Mataram Police in maintaining the commitment to eradicate corruption, Yogi said that investigators had officially written to BPKP NTB.

"Our goal is to write to ask for clarity from the results of yesterday's exposure. We have also transferred the letter to the NTB BPKP directly to the Deputy for Investigation of the BPKP RI," said Yogi.

The procurement of COVID-19 masks in 2020 uses a government budget of IDR 12.3 billion. The government prepared the funds from the results of the budget refocusing policy during the pandemic. Project work is under the NTB Provincial Cooperatives and MSMEs Office.

The Mataram Police carried out an investigation since January 2023, then increased the status of handling to the investigation stage in mid-September 2023.

In this case, investigators have found indications of unlawful acts that lead to criminal acts of corruption.