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Trial begins for ex-communications minister accused of pocketing Rp 17 billion kickbacks
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Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate is arrested on corruption charges on May 17. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
T
he trial of former communications and information minister Johnny G. Plate of the NasDem Party began on Tuesday, with prosecutors accusing him of pocketing some Rp 17.8 billion (US$1.18 million) in kickbacks from inflated procurement in a government 4G telephony project.
The project to erect some 8,000 4G base transceiver stations (BTS) in underdeveloped regions kicked off in 2020 after Johnny was installed as minister, and was led by the Telecommunications and Information Accessibility Agency (BAKTI) under the communications ministry.
Presenting their indictment at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Tuesday, prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) charged Johnny with "violating Article 2 of the 2001 Corruption Law", which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a Rp 1 billion fine.
Prosecutors said that Johnny’s role started in early 2020 when he discussed the project with BAKTI president director Anang Achmad Latif and telecom infrastructure company PT Mora Telematika Indonesia president director Galumbang Menak Simajuntak.
The three individuals were thought to begin drumming up plans for BAKTI to lead the BTS project at that time, while Galumbang began lining up companies affiliated with him to be contracted as vendors using manipulated rules and marked-up prices.
Johnny is also accused of having approved a scale-up for the project without supporting data and business plans.
As the project began rolling, according to prosecutors, Johnny requested and received Rp 500 million a month from Anang, starting from March 2021 until October last year. Johnny allegedly also asked for more money from Anang and received almost Rp 2 billion in further kickbacks from April 2021 to March 2022.
