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AGO graft probe seizes evidence from Kominfo, vendor
State investigators have confiscated documents from the Communications and Information Ministry and a private vendor as the AGO probes possible graft in a procurement deal.
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A technician services a 4G base transceiver station (BTS) tower in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, on July 13, 2018. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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nvestigators from the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) have confiscated documents and evidence from the Communications and Information Ministry (Kominfo) and a private company in investigating a graft case that has allegedly cost the state almost Rp 1 trillion (US$64 million) in losses.
On Monday, a team under the assistant attorney general for extraordinary crimes (Jampidsus) searched for evidence at a Central Jakarta office of the ministry and the North Jakarta premises of PT Adyawinsa Telecommunications and Electrical.
Adyawinsa supplied 4G base transceiver stations (BTS) and supporting infrastructure in a procurement deal with the ministry at the heart of the graft probe.
The search produced “several important documents we suspect are related to [this] case”, Jampidsus investigation director Kuntadi told the press on Monday, and that the AGO was building its investigation on the seized documents.
The ministry’s information and public communication director general, Usman Kansong, said the ministry was fully cooperating with the investigation, Tempo.co reported.
AGO spokesman Ketut Sumedana confirmed that the attorney general had bumped up the Kominfo case into a full-fledged investigation last week, although no one had been named as a suspect to date.
“We will release another statement when a suspect has been determined,” Ketut told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Read also: AGO’s recent high-profile cases cast shadow over KPK’s workLast week, AGO investigators searched the premises of seven other companies linked to the alleged misappropriation of funds from the BTS procurement project. The seven companies were identified as: PT Fiberhome Technologies Indonesia, PT Applications Aplikanusa Lintasarta, PT Infrastruktur Bisnis Sejahtera, PT Sansine Exindo, PT Moratelindo, PT Exelsia Mirtaniaga Mandiri and PT ZTE Indonesia.
At least one company has pushed back against the allegations, while local media reported that last week’s search had also resulted in the confiscation of several documents relevant to the case.
The BTS procurement project began in 2020, when the ministry aimed to erect 4G BTS towers in around 8,000 black spots and the nation’s frontier, outermost and underdeveloped regions by 2023.
In the first development phase worth Rp 10 trillion, the ministry targeted installing BTS towers in 4,200 locations by the end of this year, but it has reached just half that figure.
Significant delays throughout the phase only raised suspicions of possible graft, and the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) stepped in to audit the project in June, while the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) also became involved in tracing the flow of funds.
Now that the House of Representatives is back in session, House Commission I overseeing information and intelligence is expected to summon Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate to demand accountability, according to Golkar politician Dave Laksono, reported Tempo.co.
