State Audit Board (BPK) Finds Rp5.8 Trillion in Irregularities in the Kominfo BTS Project

The Indonesian Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) found irregularities in the financial reports of the 4G Base Transceiver Station (BTS) project of the BAKTI Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo), totaling Rp5.8 trillion (approximately US$380 million).

This finding is recorded in the *Summary of Semester I Audit Results (IHPS I) 2023*, released on December 5, 2023.

The BPK stated that fixed asset reports of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics worth Rp3.88 trillion (approximately US$255 million), consisting of equipment and machinery from the provision of 4G BAKTI BLU BTS towers, could not be verified for their reasonableness.

The BPK assessed that the report "lacked sufficient documentation to declare that the assets were completed and could be utilized by cellular operators."

Furthermore, there were also irregularities in the Work in Progress (WIP) construction report resulting from the provision of 4G BAKTI BLU BTS worth Rp1.93 trillion (approximately US$127 million).

According to the BPK, the WIP report "lacked sufficient documentation to separate the portions that did not meet the criteria as WIP."

The BPK recommended that the Minister of Communication and Informatics review the 4G BTS provision program to ensure its implementation in accordance with regulations and avoid the risk of work stoppage.

The BPK also requested that the providers complete the work according to the contract, and instructed the BAKTI CEO to formulate payment provisions according to their realization and present the results of the 4G BTS provision fairly in accordance with Government Accounting Standards (SAP).

This Ministry of Communication and Informatics BTS provision program is a project implicated in a corruption case.

Until November 2023, the Attorney General's Office (Kejagung) had named 16 suspects in the case. One of them is former Minister of Communication and Informatics Johnny G. Plate, who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison and a fine of Rp1 billion (approximately US$66,000) with a 6-month prison sentence as a substitute, as well as an additional penalty of paying Rp15.5 billion (approximately US$1 million) in restitution.

The Attorney General's Office also named BPK member Achsanul Qosasi as the 16th suspect. He admitted to receiving Rp40 billion (approximately US$2.6 million) to manipulate the audit results of the project's budget usage.

(See also: [This is the Most Wasteful Government Institution in Semester I 2023])