TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Following his suspect-naming, the Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) Minister Johnny G. Plate is officially a prisoner of the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and will stay at the AGO’s Salemba Prison for the next 20 days. Plate is embroiled in an alleged corruption case involving a massive 4G base transceiver station (BTS) project from 2020 to 2023.

Questions about his active role as a Nasdem politician have now emerged.

Tempo attempted to contact the Party’s deputy chairperson Ahmad Ali via Whatsapp chat but has yet to receive any response.

However, in late March Ahmad Ali once stated that Nasdem’s position as a political party will be expressed publicly after the AGO inquiry is completed and that Johnny Plate’s position in the party will be lost if found guilty.

“It’s either an automatic termination or resignation,” said Ahmad Ali to Tempo on Friday, March 31.

Johnny G. Plate is the sixth person who is named a suspect in the corruption case of the BTS construction project executed by the Kominfo Ministry’s Telecommunications and Information Accessibility Agency Business Service Agency (BAKTI). The other suspects include Bakti president director Anang Achmad Latif and four private parties.

Investigators suspect the Minister received monthly kickbacks from Bakti President Director Anang Achmad Latif, who was already named a suspect in the case prior to Johnny’s status.

The state loss from the case was predicted to reach Rp8.32 trillion. The Development and Financial Supervision Board (BPKP) came up with the figure based on the audit result, physical verification and observation at the site, and experts’ statement.

The Bakti BTS construction is a multi-year project by the Ministry led by Johnny G. Plate that costs up to Rp11 trillion, including the construction of around 9,000 transmitter towers in thousands of villages and sub-districts across the country’s frontier, outermost, and remote (3T) regions.

RIRI RAHAYU

Editor's Choice: Kominfo Minister Johnny G. Plate Named Suspect in Corruption Case

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