Muhammad Aulia Rahman, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced on Monday that it has recovered approximately Rp 2.4 trillion ($151.3 million) in stolen state assets since the current leadership took office in 2020.
All of the recovered funds have been returned to state coffers, KPK Chairman Nawawi Pomolango said at an event marking the International Anti-Corruption Day at the commission's headquarters in Jakarta.
Nawawi described the achievement as the commission's "concrete contribution to the state's non-tax revenue."
Over the past five years, the KPK has handled 597 corruption cases involving key sectors such as infrastructure, natural resources, education, and healthcare. It has also addressed cases involving corrupt law enforcement officials, he added.
Nawawi stressed that anti-corruption efforts go beyond simply punishing offenders, highlighting the importance of asset recovery as part of the commission's mandate.
"Criminal investigations against corruption do not merely seek punishments for the perpetrators but also to optimize the recovery of stolen state assets," Nawawi said.
His remarks come just days before the swearing-in of the new KPK chairman and commissioners, following a selection process at the House of Representatives.
Nawawi took over the KPK chairmanship from Firli Bahuri, who resigned last year after being named a corruption suspect by the police.
Of the current four commissioners, only Johanis Tanak won reappointment in the House selection process.
Last month, Setyo Budiyanto, the Inspector General at the Agriculture Ministry, was chosen as the new KPK chairman during a vote by the House's Commission III, which oversees legal affairs. His deputies include current commissioner Johanis Tanak; Fitroh Rohcahyanto, who has served as the KPK's director of prosecution; former state auditor Agus Joko Pramono; and veteran judge Ibnu Basuki Widodo.
The KPK's oversight body will also have new members, including retired police general Benny Mamoto, lawyer Chisca Mirawati, former prosecutor Wisnu Baroto, and judges Sumpeno and Gusrizal. The oversight body operates without a chairperson.
The KPK was established as an ad hoc law enforcement agency by the government and the House in 2002, following the declaration of corruption as "an extraordinary crime that required extraordinary measures."
Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/kpk-claims-to-have-recovered-rp-24-trillion-in-stolen-state-asset