Mataram Police Still Waiting For BPKP Corruption Audit For The Procurement Of The NTB 2020 Provincial Government Mask

Illustration. The South Sumatra Health Office put a mask on a boy at the South Sumatra DPRD five intersection, Palembang, Sunday 1 October 2023. (ANTARA-Nova Wahyudi)

The Mataram City Police (Polresta) confirmed that the investigation into the alleged corruption case in the procurement of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) is still ongoing.

Head of the Mataram Police Criminal Investigation Unit (Satreskrim) Kompol I Made Yogi Purusa Utama said investigators had collaborated with an audit team from the NTB Representative Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) to calculate state financial losses in this case.

"The handling of cases is still ongoing in the process of calculating losses by BPKP. Investigators fully support BPKP," said Yogi in Mataram, NTB, Wednesday, September 11, which was confiscated by Antara.

He did not deny that the process of calculating state financial losses with BPKP took quite a long time, considering the number of witnesses, especially from MSME actors involved in procuring at least 100 people.

"So, almost every day the examination is accelerated. In a day, up to eight people can be examined," he said.

The examination of witnesses to complete the audit results of state financial losses took place at the Mataram Police.

On Wednesday, September 11, there were three members of the auditor team from the NTB Representative BPKP who conducted witness examinations with police investigators.

When the audit results have emerged, Yogi ensures that investigators will conduct a case title to determine further steps from the investigation process that has not revealed the role of the suspect.

"If there is an official audit result, we will hold an internal title first, then proceed to the NTB Police. Hopefully it can be rushed," he said.

The NTB Representative BPKP was recorded as issuing an audit assignment letter on July 3, 2024. The issuance of the letter is a follow-up to the results of the police investigator case title 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 Government Cooperatives and MSMEs Service (Pemprov).

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