The Papua Prosecutor's Office Is Investigating The Alleged Corruption Case Of The Mimika Aircraft And Helicopter Transportation Agency Worth Tens Of Billions

JAYAPURA - The Papua High Prosecutor's Office has examined 14 witnesses related to allegations of corruption in the procurement of aircraft and helicopters by the Mimika Regency Transportation Service.

The procurement of aircraft and helicopters sourced is said to have used the Mimika Regency APBD for the 2015 to 2022 fiscal years. In detail, the procurement of the Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft is budgeted at Rp34 billion and the Airbus H-125 helicopter is Rp43.8 billion.

The head of the Papua High Prosecutor's Office, Nikolaus Kondomo, said that the investigation into the alleged corruption case was handled together with the Mimika Kejari.

"14 people have been examined as witnesses and planes and the helicopters have been operated by PT Asian One Air, but the cooperation is not clear because the operational costs of Rp. 21 billion are borne by the Mimika Regional Government," he said, as quoted by Antara, Saturday, August 27. He said that from the temporary inspection, it was revealed that the procurement of the Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft and the Airbus H-125 helicopter was aimed at providing transportation services for people whose areas were difficult to reach. The Papuan Attorney General's Office also explained that it could not confirm the whereabouts of the helicopter in question. There is information that the helicopter is currently in Papua New Guinea (PNG). "It is not certain because from the results of the investigation, it turns out that the purchase of the helicopter uses a temporary import permit," he said again. According to him, the status of the helicopter is not clear because it requires re-export every three years.