Attorney General's Office Comments on Amsal Sitepu Case: Not About Skills
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) of the Republic of Indonesia has spoken out regarding the case of videographer Amsal Christy Sitepu, who is being prosecuted by the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office for inflating the budget in the production of a village promotional video through his company, CV Promiseland.
Head of the Public Relations Centre for the Attorney General’s Office (Kapuspenkum Kejagung), Anang Supriatna, stated that Amsal is one of the defendants in the alleged corruption case involving the management and development of local communication and informatics installation networks in Karo Regency for the 2020–2023 fiscal years.
“From the report of the investigative team in Karo Regency, the total loss in this case is actually Rp 1.8 billion. This Rp 1.8 billion is divided among different procurement teams,” said Anang when met at the Kejagung in Jakarta on Monday (30/3/2026).
In the case, Amsal is alleged to have manipulated the draft budget cost (RAB) for the production of profile videos for 20 villages in Karo Regency.
Anang explained that one form of manipulation occurred in the drone rental component in the RAB for the activity.
“So it’s not a matter of skill or ability, but in the RAB for the activity, for example, for the drone rental activity for 30 days, it turns out that the execution only took a few days, 12 days, but it was paid in full,” Anang revealed.
According to Anang, this manipulation practice was carried out by Amsal together with several vendors by exploiting the limited understanding of village heads regarding RAB preparation.
“This is village fund money, the problem. Well, the village heads don’t really understand. This RAB, according to the investigators, comes from the contractors themselves,” he said.
“Meanwhile, the activities were not fully carried out as per the RAB, that’s the issue. That’s where the full payment was made for now,” he continued.
On the other hand, the Attorney General’s Office responded to the request from Commission III of the DPR RI to free Amsal by affirming respect for the DPR’s oversight function.
Anang stated that they allow all parties to pursue available legal mechanisms in the judicial process.
“We respect and indeed the function of the DPR is to oversee so that law enforcement runs in accordance with applicable legal provisions and also to fulfil a sense of justice in society,” said Anang.
“Regarding the request from the defendant in question, please go ahead, there are legal mechanisms to pursue. One of them is after the prosecution, then the plea of defence from the defendant and legal counsel, just present it there as it is. Of course, it will then be considered by the panel of judges who decide,” he added.