SINGAPORE: Indonesia’s anti-graft agency on Wednesday (Oct 14) named five people as suspects in an alleged corruption case involving the procurement of goods and services using emergency funds at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
One of the suspects is Bima Setyawan, the younger brother of Suharyanto, who was replaced as BNPB chief by Kristomei Sianturi on Thursday. It is unclear whether the leadership change is related to the corruption probe.
The other suspects are BNPB procurement officer Gabriel Purwaka Sigit, expert advisor Richard Erlangga and two individuals from the private sector - Gery Prasetiawan and Syifa Nrika G, local media reported.
The alleged corruption involves purchases made by BNPB, some of which were paid for with agency funds earmarked allocated for emergency needs, such as delivering aid to disaster-hit areas.
The emergency funds make up a significant portion of the agency’s annual budget of the year, totalling up to 4.62 trillion rupiah (US$258 million), the Jakarta Post reported.
The naming of suspects on Wednesday followed a series of raids by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) earlier this week across Jakarta, where 14 people were detained, including BNPB secretary-general Rustian.
The five suspects named on Wednesday were among those detained during the operation. Rustian has since been released and is being treated as a witness.
Chairman of Indonesia’s anti-graft agency Setyo Budianto said the alleged corruption case involved collusion facilitated by personal connections.
It is believed to have been ongoing for the past three to four years, with those involved suspected of exploiting rules that allow BNPB to appoint suppliers directly during emergencies for the sake of personal gain.
The use of these funds involves several private companies that were allegedly pre-arranged to secure contracts.
"This is what we are investigating further. There are indications of cooperation and a degree of manipulation, particularly in the allocation of the budget and how it was utilised and spent, with some of it allegedly misappropriated by certain individuals for their own benefit," Kompas quoted Setyo as saying.
BNPB chief Suharyanto has not been named a suspect. But the KPK has not ruled out questioning him if investigators find corroborating testimony and evidence during the investigation, local media reported.
The case involving the disaster management agency has prompted Abdullah, a member of the House of Representatives’ Third Commission, to call on the KPK and the Supreme Audit Agency to conduct a comprehensive audit of BNPB’s financial management.
"If funds that should have been used to help victims are instead misappropriated, we must ask how many people may have been deprived of the assistance they should have received," Abdullah said.
The probe comes as Indonesia grapples with a series of emergencies this year, including the eruptions of Mount Anak Krakatau in September, persistent forest and peatland fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan and a deadly earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara in August, the Jakarta Post reported.