Kemdagri received US$ 90 million bill for e-KTP

JAKARTA. After facing a law case, this time Kemdagri or the Ministry of Home Affairs suddenly received a worth of US$ 90 million bill of debt for the project of electronic identity card (e-KTP).

The bill came from a US-based company, which was the sub-contractor of the procurement of e-KTP. The company was given the project by a consortium, which won the bid for e-KTP project.

Minister of Home Affairs Tjahjo Kumolo said that the government will not settle the bill, on the grounds that the government had settled the bill to the consortium, which won the bid for the e-KTP project. “It has been settled through the State Budget. But, the consortium has not paid to the company,” Tjahjo said, Thursday (24/11).

In responding to the case, Tjahjo said that the Ministry of Home Affairs had consulted with the Corruption Eradication Commission. He also stated that it is impossible for the government to settle the bill from the sub-contractor, on the grounds that the budget for e-KTP project from the State Budget had been allocated to the contractor, which won the bid.

Chairman of KPK Agus Raharjo said that the commission is investigating the flow of Rp 1,2 trillion funds, which were supposed to be paid to the US-based sub-contractor. “KPK has onced frozen a transaction related to the case of e-KTP, but the amount is lesser,” he said.

As information, the consortium of e-KTP project led by Perum Percetakan Negara RI (PNRI). The consortium itself consisted of PT LEN Industri, PT Sucofindo, PT Quadra Solution, and PT Sandipala Artha Putra.

In 2014, KPK had detected the allegation of corruption case in the project of e-KTP procurement. KPK has named the former Director of Population Administration Information Management at Ministry of Home Affairs Sugiharto, who was the commitment maker official, as the suspect of related e-KTP case. However, the investigation over the case, of which state suffered Rp 2 trillion loses, was running slowly.

This year, KPK started activating the investigation over e-KTP case. As of the end of September 2016, KPK had named a new suspect, namely Irman, former Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration at the Ministry of Home Affairs.

In this case, KPK has summoned some witnesses from government institutions and privates, including the contractors. At the beginning of the month, Governor of BI (the Central Bank) has been summoned by KPK over the case. Agus was the Minister of Finance when the case was running in 2011-2012.

On the last Monday (14/11), KPK had also summoned some witnesses, including Director of PT Gajendra Adhi Sakti Azmin Aulia, who is also the younger brother of the former Minister of Home Affairs Gamawan Fauzi.

(Muhammad Farid/Translator)