The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) searched through the office of director general of mineral and coal at the ministry of energy and mineral resources in an investigation of graft cases involving the staff of the ministry.
A source from the energy and mineral resource ministry, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the embezzlement of state money involved nine internal staffs of the director general of mineral and coal and one retired staff of the directorate general’s treasury office and one person from outside the energy and mineral resource ministry.
The total state losses calculated in the alleged corruption is Rp27 billion, which resulted from markups of performance allowance and official travel budget of officials at the directorate general of mineral and coal.
“For example, someone in a staff position or at the third echelon should receive Rp7,2 million as performance allowance, but they changed the number to Rp 72 million. It must have involved someone from the finance division,” the source said to Indonesia Business Post on March 28, 2023.
The source said the staff had committed such practice for 3 years during the Covid-19 pandemic. With the government’s restriction on official travel during the Covid -19 pandemic, the staffs have no additional income.
The source said that if the KPK continues the search until tomorrow, there is a possibility that KPK is currently targeting to uncover an even bigger case.
The spokesman of KPK Ali Fikri confirmed that there is a search in the office of the ministry of energy and mineral resource. The search is related to a new investigation against corruption in the ministry of energy and mineral resource.
