Police Have Named 3 Suspects In The Case Of Suspected COVID-19 Budget Corruption In Aru Regency

Kapolres Kepulauan Aru AKBP Dwi Bachtiar memberikan keterangan pers di Mapolres Aru. (ANTARA/HO-Polda Maluku)

The police have named three suspects in the alleged corruption case in the budget for handling COVID-19 at the Aru Regency Food Security Service in Maluku Province.

The three suspects suspected of having committed irregularities and misuse of the COVID-19 budget, namely MG, CR, and DH. All three have been detained at the Aru Police Detention Center.

Aru Islands Police Chief AKBP Dwi Bachtiar said the COVID-19 budget disbursed to the Aru Islands Regency Government was Rp. 60 billion. This was realized for 21 Regional Apparatus Organizations (OPD) amounting to Rp41 billion.

"What was realized was Rp41 billion for 21 OPD of Aru Islands Regency. However, from the reviews and data from the Health Service, at that time, Aru Islands Regency was still in the green zone," said the Police Chief in Ambon, Thursday, December 2, quoted by Antara.

This corruption case began when the Maluku Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) conducted an investigative audit and found indications of state financial losses in five OPDs. Meanwhile, the other 16 OPDs are still in the process of being investigated.

Five indicated PDs were found to have committed irregularities and misuse of the COVID-19 budget, namely the Food Security Service, Industry and Trade Office, Fisheries Service, Agriculture Service and Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of the Aru Islands Regency.

"Then from the results of the investigation, expert information from the Government Goods/Services Procurement Policy Institute (LKPP) and the results of the Maluku Province BPKP, we carried out a case title and raised the status for the five OPDs to the investigation stage," he said.

After the status was raised, the investigative team then examined witnesses and confiscated the documents. Subsequently, conduct an examination of the LKPP experts and have asked BPKP to calculate the state losses of the five OPDs.

On November 18, 2022, the Maluku Province BPKP has issued the results of the calculation of state financial losses at the Aru Islands Regency Food Security Service.

"Meanwhile, the Department of Industry and Trade, the Fisheries Service, the Agriculture Service and the Regional Disaster Management Agency of the Aru Islands Regency will follow later," said the Police Chief.

After receiving the results of the BPKP audit, on November 25, 2022, the investigative team again carried out a case title to determine the suspect related to the Aru Islands Regency Food Security Service.

"And the result of the title of the case is the suspect who was determined with the initials MG (providors), CR (PPK) and DH (KPA)," he said.

After naming the three suspects, the investigative team again sent summons to the three to be examined as witnesses on November 25, 2022.

The suspect MG fulfilled the investigator's summons on Monday, November 28, 2022. After being examined, the status of the person concerned was then transferred to a suspect and immediately detained.

Likewise for the other two suspects. The CR suspect is present on Tuesday 29 November 2022 and suspect DH is present on Wednesday 30 November 2022.

"Both of them were examined as witnesses, after which their status was transferred to suspect, then they were examined by the suspect and detained," he said.

Investigators have confiscated funds from the state financial losses from MG as the provider. "In the near future, we will send the case files of the Food Security Service to the District Attorney's Office," he said.

As for the alleged articles, namely Article 2 paragraphs (1) and (2) and/or Article 3 of Law Number 31 of 1999 Amendments to Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption.