Johnny G. Plate belongs to the NasDem party, which is part of the ruling coalition. He was arrested today after a three-hour inquiry by the Attorney General’s Office. He and five others are charged with using state funds for personal gain, causing a loss of more than $500 million.
Jakarta () – The Indonesian Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Johny G. Plate, was arrested for a mega-corruption scandal that caused the State to lose more than 500 million dollars, the Indonesian Attorney General’s Office (AGO) confirmed today ).
This is the fifth minister in the administration of President Joko Widodo (locally also called Jokowi) to be imprisoned on such charges, after the Minister of Fisheries and the Minister of Social Affairs were arrested in 2021.
Businessman and prominent leader of the National Democratic Party (NasDem), which is part of the ruling coalition, Plate had been summoned to the AGO headquarters to clarify a suspicious situation. After a three-hour investigation, he was charged, along with five other people from the ministry and the private sector, with using state funds and hurting the national budget with losses of 8 trillion Indonesian rupiah.
The prosecution cited Plate’s involvement in the purchase of thousands of communication towers that, according to his ministry, would bring 4G Internet to thousands of towns. “Today we have full confirmation that the huge financial loss of the state amounts to 8 trillion rupees,” confirmed Yusuf Ateh of the AGO, referring to a figure that is equivalent to 544 million dollars.
According to some local commentators, ministers belonging to NasDem are being removed from the executive for having supported the candidacy of opposition leader Anies Baswedan.
In response to the arrest, the Ministry of Communications announced in a statement that it will abide by the judicial process and that its public services will not be hampered for this reason. President Jokowi’s office, for its part, said the arrest was unexpected: “On many occasions, the president reminded officials to work carefully,” said Jaleswari Pramodhawardhani, an official in the presidential office.
