East Flores Regional Secretary Becomes Suspect for Corruption in COVID-19 Funds

Penyidik Kejaksaan Negeri Flores Timur, Kamis, melakukan penahanan terhadap tersangka AHB (Kepala BPBD Kabupaten Flores Timur) terkait kasus dugaan korupsi dana COVID-19 tahun 2020. (ANTARA/HO-Kejaksaan Tinggi NTT)

KUPANG - Prosecutors' investigators named the Regional Secretary of East Flores Regency, NTT, with the initials PIG as a suspect in the alleged corruption case in the management of the 2020 COVID-19 handling acceleration budget which cost the state finances more than IDR 1.56 billion.

"The East Flores State Prosecutor's Office has named three suspects, including the East Flores Regional Secretary, PIG, in the corruption case of COVID-19 funds for the 2020 fiscal year. One of the three suspects has been detained by the prosecutor's investigators", said the Head of the Legal Information and Public Relations Section of the NTT High Prosecutor's Office as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, September 15.

Three suspects in the corruption case of COVID-19 funds in East Flores Regency, NTT, are PLT as the Expenditure Treasurer for the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), AHB (Head of BPBD Executive) and PIG (Regional Secretary).

Abdul Hakim said that investigators of corruption at the East Flores District Attorney's Office had detained AHB on Thursday evening after being questioned as a suspect.

The suspect AHB was detained by investigators for 20 days at the Class II B State Detention Center Larantuka from September 15 to October 4, 2022.

Meanwhile, the examination of two other suspects, namely PLT and PIG is scheduled for next week.

The case of alleged corruption in the management of COVID-19 funds in East Flores Regency began when there was a refocusing of activities and a reallocation of the budget to accelerate the handling of COVID-19. The East Flores Regency BPBD office received an unexpected budget allocation of IDR 6.5 billion for disaster emergency management.

The process of submitting the disbursement of the unexpected expenditure budget by the BPBD of East Flores Regency was carried out not by the laws and regulations because the funds used were fictitious and the accountability reports were not supported by evidence of expenditure.

According to the results of calculations carried out by the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) Number PE.03.03/SR-294/PW24/5/2022 dated August 16, 2022, on suspicions of corruption in the management of COVID-19 funds at the BPBD of East Flores Regency, some irregularities caused losses. state finances amounting to IDR 1,569,264,435.