Investigators from the South Sulawesi Regional Police’s Criminal Investigation Department uncovered 31 cases of criminal acts of corruption with 21 people named as suspects. South Sulawesi Regional Police Chief, Inspector General Yudhiawan, said that dozens of criminal acts of corruption were combined into three files. These include criminal acts of corruption related to physical work, banking and abuse of authority.
“There are 3 LPs (police reports) combined into one. There are 21 suspects, we are also combining these 3 LPs,” he said, in Makassar City, South Sulawesi, Tuesday (12/11).
Yudhiawan explained that in the physical work corruption case, the South Sulawesi Regional Police’s Ditreskrimsus investigated several cases, namely the construction of the 18 kilometer Sabang-Tallang road in North Luwu Regency by the PUTR Service of South Sulawesi Province in 2020. Furthermore, the construction of the Labukang Market by the Parepare City Trade Service in the 2019 fiscal year.
“The modus operandi is borrowing and using the company. PPK and PPTK do not control contracts, change specifications in the field, do not carry out work according to the contract or do not comply with work specifications and the use of managerial personnel does not comply with the contract,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the respective cases of alleged banking corruption include the granting of Bank BPD Sulselbar construction credit facilities to PT Aiwondeni Permai in 2020 and the granting of Bank BPD Sulselbar Sengkang Branch construction credit facilities to PT Delima Agung Utama in 2021.
Furthermore, the provision of construction working capital credit facilities at Bank Sulselbar Takalar Branch to PT Letebbe Putra Group in 2021-2022 and the provision of People’s Enterprise credit facilities (KUR) at Bank BRI Unit Mappasaile Pangkep Branch in 2019-2021.
Then, providing Bank BRI KUR facilities for the Takkallala Unit in Soppeng Regency in 2022-2023, abuse of authority to duplicate credit cards belonging to Bank BRI Kahu customers in Bone Regency in 2023, and providing Bank Mandiri SME Makassar Kartini credit facilities to the PT Eastern Pearl Flour Mils (EPFM) Cooperative 2018-2019.
In their actions, the suspects carried out an analysis of working capital credit that did not comply with the credit granting mechanism outside the branch’s working area and payment terms that were not debited.
“Apart from that, the credit facility is beyond its intended use and uses fictitious top-up documents and other required documentation for KUR disbursement requirements,” explained Yudhi.
Next, cases of alleged abuse of authority or position, namely levies of PPh 21 on State Civil Apparatus (ASN) recipients of payments for BPJS Health claims services at Lanto Daeng Pasewang Regional Hospital, Jeneponto Regency in 2017-2018 and procurement of goods handed over to the community in response to emergency situations. Covid-19 at the Makassar City Social Service in 2020 and management of agricultural tools and machinery at the UPTD for the management of Agricultural Agribusiness in Maros Regency in 2023.
In the case of Lanto Daeng Pasewang Regional Hospital, officials deducted the receipts from claims services to health workers but did not deposit PPh 21, but instead the funds were deposited in personal accounts by falsifying BPJS claim deposit slips as if they had been paid.
Then, in the Covid-19 case, it was suspected that he had inflated the prices of Covid-19 relief goods in Makassar, and for machine tools in Maros, his method was selling and renting state-owned goods and not depositing the funds into the state treasury.
“So far, case handling for stage one has included 5 police reports (LP), preparations for sending files to the prosecutor’s office 7 LP, while calculating state losses (PKN) 16 LP and fingerprinting process 5 LP,” he said.
Yudhiawan said that in this criminal case, 21 people were named as suspects with their respective initials, AA, JP, MS, OA, EJ, AR, DM, BJ, MT, ZS, AM, KH, ISB, AMS, AF, RL , ED, OO, FA, NR and NS. Meanwhile, there were 453 witnesses examined and 12 experts.
In this case, the South Sulawesi Regional Police confiscated 350 documents as evidence, such as BPKB, land certificates and other important documents. The police also confiscated 14 four-wheeled vehicles, 10 10-wheeled vehicles or dump trucks, eight Forklip trucks, one cell phone, three laptops and IDR 2.29 billion in cash.
“In this case, the rescue of state funds (money and goods) was worth more than IDR 8.7 billion, the results of calculating state losses (PKN) were more than IDR 25.4 billion, potential state losses (AI) were more than IDR 59.4 billion, so the total was IDR 84 .8 billion more,” he said.
As a result of their actions, the suspects were threatened with Article 2 paragraph 1 subsidiary Article 3 of Law number 31 of 1999 as amended by Law number 20 of 2001 concerning the Eradication of Corruption Crimes in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) first of the Criminal Code.
“The threat of imprisonment is a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 20 years or life in emergency conditions, as well as a minimum fine of IDR 200 million and a maximum of IDR 1 billion,” he added. (MGN/I-2)
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What are the most significant corruption cases uncovered by the South Sulawesi Regional Police in recent months?
**Interview with Inspector General Yudhiawan on the Recent Corruption Cases Uncovered by the South Sulawesi Regional Police**
**Interviewer:** Thank you for joining us today, Inspector General Yudhiawan. Can you provide an overview of the recent corruption cases that have been uncovered by the South Sulawesi Regional Police?
**Inspector General Yudhiawan:** Thank you for having me. We have uncovered a total of 31 corruption cases involving 21 suspects. These cases are significant and cover various areas, including physical construction work, banking, and abuse of authority. We are currently combining three major police reports into one file for a more streamlined investigation process.
**Interviewer:** That sounds extensive. Could you elaborate on some specific cases you’ve investigated, particularly in construction?
**Inspector General Yudhiawan:** Certainly. One notable case involves the construction of the 18-kilometer Sabang-Tallang road conducted by the Public Works and Housing Service in North Luwu Regency. There were irregularities in how contracts were managed, with discrepancies in specifications and oversight. Similarly, the construction of the Labukang Market also came under scrutiny for similar reasons.
**Interviewer:** In terms of banking corruption, what violations were discovered?
**Inspector General Yudhiawan:** In the banking sector, our investigations revealed the granting of construction credit facilities that did not follow the proper mechanisms. For instance, Bank BPD Sulselbar provided loans to several companies without adhering to the necessary credit granting protocols. This included granting loans outside designated areas and using fictitious documentation to qualify for KUR disbursements.
**Interviewer:** There are also allegations of abuse of authority linked to the Lanto Daeng Pasewang Regional Hospital and Covid-19 relief efforts. Can you discuss these cases?
**Inspector General Yudhiawan:** Yes, in the hospital case, officials fraudulently managed payments related to BPJS Health claims, failing to deposit the appropriate taxes, which led to funds being misappropriated into personal accounts. Similarly, during the Covid-19 pandemic, there were instances of inflated prices for relief goods, and state-owned agricultural equipment was sold and rented without proper accounting to the state treasury.
**Interviewer:** With 31 cases and 21 suspects, what steps are being taken to ensure accountability and prevent future corruption?
**Inspector General Yudhiawan:** We are committed to pursuing these cases rigorously. Five police reports have already been filed, and we are progressing steadily through the investigations. We are also working to improve oversight and compliance within these organizations to enhance our systems and prevent future corruption.
**Interviewer:** Thank you, Inspector General Yudhiawan, for sharing these important updates with us. We look forward to seeing how this unfolds.
**Inspector General Yudhiawan:** Thank you for the opportunity. It’s essential for the public to remain informed about these issues, as transparency is key to maintaining trust in our institutions.
