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View all search resultsEx-free meal agency head arrested for graft after being sacked
Former National Nutrition Agency (BGN) head Dadan Hindayana is suspected of having affiliation with foundations picked as free nutritious meal rollout partners, while also allegedly pushing to procure equipment deemed unnecessary for the program.
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Dadan Hindayana (center), former head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) that oversees the free nutritious meal program, is escorted by Attorney General's Office (AGO) officers and Indonesian Military personnel on June 3 as he leaves the AGO building in Jakarta. The AGO named Dadan and two former BGN deputies as graft suspects pertaining to the procurement and partnering foundation appointment for the program, a day after they were removed over concerns including food quality. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
T
he Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has named Dadan Hindayana, former head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) that oversees the free nutritious meal rollout, as a suspect in an alleged corruption case just one day after his dismissal from the agency.
Dadan and former deputy BGN heads Lodewyk Pusung and Sony Sonjaya were interrogated on Wednesday morning. Investigators later detained them after finding sufficient evidence, said assistant attorney general for extraordinary crimes (Jampidsus) investigation director Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi.
The free meals program is President Prabowo Subianto’s campaign promise aimed at fighting malnutrition by feeding nearly 90 million schoolchildren and pregnant women. But the rollout has come under criticism due to its high cost, cases of food poisoning, operational shortcomings and alleged procurement irregularities.
AGO investigators alleged several foundations linked to the agency’s officials were approved as program partners through a rigged verification process, despite failing to meet eligibility requirements.
“They were still appointed through manipulated verification procedures on the agency’s partner portal, with the involvement or direction of the suspects,” Syarief told a press briefing on Wednesday. “These foundations reportedly received incentives worth billions of rupiah per day.”
The three former BGN officials were also suspected of interfering in procurement processes, including by influencing the drafting of work plans so project specifications did not reflect actual operational needs.
Among procurements in question were more than 20,000 electric motorcycles worth around Rp 1 trillion (US$56 million) as well as 32,000 pairs of shoes, 31,000 tablets and 5,400 units of 75-inch televisions that were deemed not needed and allegedly overpriced.
