Holds COVID-19 Mask Corruption Case, Police Wait For BPKP NTB To Audit Losses

The building of the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) representing West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). (ANTARA-Dhimas BPP)

The Mataram Police stated that the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) Representative of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) is currently conducting an audit of the calculation of state financial losses in the alleged corruption case in the procurement of COVID-19 masks.

"So, what we found was in the BAP (report of examination) of witnesses, that was immediately reviewed by the BPKP in the field," said Head of the Mataram Police Satreskrim Kompol I Made Yogi Purusa Utama in Mataram, NTB, Wednesday, July 17, which was confiscated by Antara.

"Since there was a step by BPKP to issue an audit letter for calculating state financial losses in this case," he explained, investigators intensively accompanied auditors in the field.

"For now, the calculation of losses is still around reviewing the testimony of witnesses from MSME actors, there are quite a lot of them, more than 100 people," he said.

He hopes that the audit process for calculating state financial losses can run smoothly without obstacles, considering that the results of the BPKP audit will be one of the strengthening evidences in providing legal certainty in cases.

"So, after the results of the audit from BPKP, we will conduct a case title to determine the continuation of the direction of handling the case," he said.

BPKP NTB Representative issued an audit assignment letter on July 3, 2024. The issuance of the audit assignment letter is a follow-up to the results of the exposure of police investigators together with BPKP.

The COVID-19 mask procurement project, which is suspected to be problematic, will run in 2020. The government provides a budget of IDR 12.3 billion.

The funds came from the results of a 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.