Jakarta. State auditor Achsanul Qosasi has voluntarily returned another $619,000 in cash to the Attorney General’s Office after he was charged with corruption related to a fraudulent internet infrastructure project, a senior prosecutor said on Tuesday.

“That brings the total amount of banknotes handed over to us by the suspect to $2.6 million, equivalent to approximately Rp 40 billion,” said Kuntadi, director of corruption investigation at the AGO.

Achsanul is one of the nine members of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) whose appointment requires a vote in the House of Representatives.

On November 3, he was named a suspect in the ongoing corruption investigation into the government project to build thousands of base transceiver stations for 4G internet networks in Indonesia’s remote region. 

The AGO launched an investigation after many stations failed to materialize amid allegations of briberies involving state officials and business executives who were awarded the project.

Prosecutors alleged that Achsanul was paid by businessman Irwan Hermawan, who was recently sentenced to 12 years in prison for the same corruption case.

The payment aimed to get favorable audit results on the project, which was initiated by the Communication and Informatics Ministry, Kuntadi said earlier.

The high-profile corruption scandal saw Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny Gerard Plate as the main defendant. He has now been sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.

The fraudulent project cost the state at least Rp 8 trillion, according to an estimate by prosecutors.

Achsanul was confirmed as one of the nine BPK members in a House of Representatives vote in 2019. He is also a prominent figure in Indonesian football, as he owns the top-tier club Madura United and previously held a position within the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI).

In a statement released prior to his arrest, Achsanul denied any wrongdoing and asserted that it was the BPK that initially raised concerns about the internet infrastructure project. According to him, AGO prosecutors had consulted with the BPK during the preliminary investigation into the case.

At least eight defendants, including former Communication Ministry officials, have been tried in connection with the case. Achsanul became the subject of investigation after his name was mentioned by one of the defendants during a court hearing. 

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