Indonesia’s KPK Arrests Five Over Alleged Misuse of Disaster Relief Funds at BNPB

Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has arrested and named five suspects in a sting operation over the alleged misuse of emergency disaster relief funds at the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

The probe centres on the On-Call Fund (Dana Siap Pakai), money set aside for swift responses to national emergencies and natural disasters.

Indonesia’s Disaster Fund Scandal: Brother of BNPB Head Named Suspect

According to details released on Oct. 16, the suspects are two expert staff to the BNPB head (one of whom is the head’s brother), a commitment-making officer at the agency’s relief management unit, a private individual and a director of PT TLS.

Investigators found two corruption clusters involving direct procurement contracts for responses to forest fires in Kalimantan and Papua, earthquakes in East Nusa Tenggara and floods in Aceh and Sumatra.

In the first, contracts worth Rp148 billion (about RM40.7 million) between 2024 and 2026 were allegedly awarded by direct appointment to vendors linked to one suspect, with Rp30.98 billion (about RM8.5 million) used to buy 150.4 million shares.

In the second, officials allegedly demanded kickbacks from vendors in return for contracts.

The KPK seized assets worth about Rp5.47 billion (about RM1.5 million), including foreign currency, Rp3.35 billion in cash, gold bars, gold savings and crypto assets.

Calling the case deeply ironic, the agency said emergency aid must never be exploited for personal enrichment. All five suspects remain in custody.