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Jakarta prosecutor arrests ex-communications official in data center graft case
A former senior official of the communications ministry has been detained as a suspect for allegedly receiving an estimated Rp 11 billion in bribes related to a rigged tender for the PDNS development project, which has been linked to last year's ransomware attack that led to a nationwide disruption of public services, including immigration processes.
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Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan announces his resignation as director general of informatics applications on July 4, 2024, at the Communications and Information Ministry in Gambir, Central Jakarta, following a ransomware attack on June 20 that crippled a temporary national data center in East Java capital Surabaya and disrupted hundreds of public services. (JP/Ruth Dea Juwita)
T
he Central Jakarta Prosecutor’s Office arrested on Thursday Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, former director general of informatics applications at the then-communications and information ministry, as a suspect in a corruption case related to procurements in the temporary national data center (PDNS) project.
Investigators with the prosecutor’s office also detained former informatics application services director Bambang Dwi Anggono and the project’s procurements officer, Nova Zanda.
Two businesspeople have also been named as suspects in the case: Alfi Asman, former general manager of tech company PT Aplikanusa Lintasarta, a subsidiary of publicly listed telecom giant Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH), and Pinie Pangga Agusti, a former account manager at PT Docotel Teknologi.
The case centers on procurements made between 2019 and 2024 for the PNDS development project, valued at around Rp 959 billion (US$59 million).
Investigators said the project to build temporary data centers was not in compliance with a 2018 presidential regulation (Perpres) that mandated the construction of permanent facilities to house computers, servers, storage and other equipment that support information technology operations.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the suspects had rigged the tender in favor of Lintasarta and Docotel for several projects related to developing PNDS.
The two ministry officials are alleged to have eliminated some requirements so the tech companies could win the tender for the project, even though they did not meet the necessary data security standards. In addition, the companies allegedly subcontracted third parties that also failed to meet the data security standards for the project.
