Adil Al Hasan, Jakarta – PT Telkom Indonesia Tbk (IDX: TLKM) has addressed the alleged fictitious financing case from the 2016 to 2018 period, which is currently under investigation by the Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office. The state's financial loss from the case is estimated at Rp431 billion.
Telkom's Vice President of Investor Relations, Octavius Oky Prakarsa, said the case stemmed from an internal audit conducted by the company, which was then submitted to the Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office. "The case was the result of an internal audit by Telkom, which was later handed over to the Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office for follow-up," he stated in a disclosure to the Indonesia Stock Exchange on Tuesday, May 20.
Octavius emphasized that Telkom respects the ongoing legal process and supports the prosecutor's office in uncovering the full extent of the case. "Telkom also appreciates the Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office for its swift response in acting on the internal audit findings," he said.
As of now, Octavius confirmed that the case has not had any material impact on the company.
In earlier reports, PT Telkom Indonesia was said to be in the process of dismissing three of its officials, including personnel from its subsidiaries, who have been named as suspects in the fictitious financing scheme. "They were still holding their positions when the case surfaced. The dismissal process is currently underway," said Juniver Girsang, Telkom Indonesia's legal counsel, during a press conference at Senyata Senopati on Friday, May 16.
The three officials are August Hoth P. M., who served as general manager of Enterprise Segment Financial Management Service at Telkom from 2017 to 2020; Herman Maulana, account manager of Tourism Hospitality Service from 2015 to 2017; and Alam Hono, executive account manager at PT Infomedia Nusantara from 2016 to 2018.
The Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office has named nine individuals as suspects in the case. According to Juniver, the issue was first uncovered by Telkom's internal auditors in 2019. "The internal audit gathered the data to identify potential legal violations," he explained.
The modus operandi: Fake procurement projects
Syahron Hasibuan, Head of the Legal Information Section at the Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office, detailed the suspects' strategy: fabricating procurement projects in cooperation with nine private companies. Telkom was made to appear as the supplier of goods.
The operation involved appointing four Telkom subsidiaries, namely PT Infomedia, PT Telkominfra, PT Pins, and PT Graha Sarana Duta, to carry out procurement. These companies then selected partners to act as suppliers for the nine private firms.
Investigators found that some of the partners receiving funds from these bogus projects were owned by suspects Herman and Alam. Herman's wife was also listed as a shareholder. The partner companies were found to have affiliations with the nine private entities that received project funds.
In reality, the procurements never took place. Nonetheless, money still flowed to the partner companies and the nine implicated firms. Contractually, the nine companies should have paid Telkom after receiving the procured goods. "But no money ever came into Telkom's accounts," said Syahron on Wednesday, May 14.
According to detailed records released by the Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office, the value of these fictitious projects ranged between Rp13.2 billion and Rp114 billion.
– Jihan Ristiyanti contributed for this article.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2009413/telkom-discloses-details-in-rp431bn-fraud-case-under-investigatio