Defendant Reveals Mark-Up in FORMI Denpasar Funds, Claims Pressure from Ida Bagus Mataram

The defendant in the alleged corruption case involving grant funds for the Indonesian Community Recreation Sports Federation (FORMI) Denpasar, Ni Nyoman Sujati, spoke candidly during the trial. She acknowledged the practice of budget inflation and the use of inappropriate receipts, but stated that all of it was done under pressure from her superior, Ida Bagus Mataram.

This confession was made during the defendant’s examination hearing at the Denpasar Corruption Court on Wednesday (25/3/2026). Sujati emphasised that she was merely following orders as the Head of the FORMI Denpasar Secretariat for the 2019-2020 period, with her primary duties in administration.

“I was just carrying out my superior’s orders,” she said before the panel of judges chaired by Putu Gede Novyarta.

She revealed that during her tenure at the FORMI Denpasar secretariat in 2019-2020, they received grant funds from the Denpasar City Government amounting to approximately Rp 2.5 billion.

However, in practice, the funds were disbursed first, while the accountability reports (LPJ) were prepared later to match the budget usage.

“The money was taken first, then the LPJ was made to fit,” she added.

In the process of preparing those reports, Sujati admitted she was instructed to adjust the figures to match the disbursed funds, even if they did not reflect the actual conditions.

“I was told to just adjust it. For example, the traditional games budget from 10 was made into 50,” she revealed.

She also admitted to the use of receipts that did not match the real transactions. The receipts were collected by the treasurer and handed over to the secretariat to be compiled into financial reports.

“There were blank receipts that couldn’t be read, I was asked to find receipts from partners,” she said.

According to her, the blank receipts were used to cover budget shortfalls so that the reports appeared to match the disbursed funds.

“The receipts were to fill the budget shortfall,” she added.

Additionally, Sujati revealed that she was often asked to perform tasks outside her authority, including helping with the treasurer’s work, even though structurally she was only the secretary.

“I was asked to help, even though it wasn’t the treasurer’s part,” she said.

She admitted to carrying out all of it because she felt responsible for helping her superior, as well as due to pressure. She even mentioned facing threats of losing her job if she did not follow the instructions.

“If not, I could lose my job,” she said.

Legal Counsel: All on Orders

The defendant’s legal counsel, Agra Rinustefa, stated that all of her client’s actions were carried out on direct orders from Ida Bagus Mataram, not on personal initiative.

According to her, the trial facts revealed that every time the defendant withdrew money, she always reported to Ida Bagus Mataram’s room.

“Every money withdrawal, the defendant always reported to Mr Bagus Mataram. That was a direct order, not the defendant’s initiative,” she said.

She also mentioned that her client directly witnessed the money being cut by Ida Bagus Mataram after the disbursement.

“The defendant directly saw the money being cut. There was even a factual witness who saw an envelope containing money that was initially thick becoming thinner after leaving the room,” she said.

The witness in question, she continued, was the FORMI treasurer who also knew the flow of fund management.

Additionally, she emphasised that the preparation of accountability reports that did not match, including inflating receipt values, was done to cover the fund shortfall due to the cuts.

“To cover the shortfall, the defendant was ordered to increase the receipt values. For example, from Rp 5,000 to Rp 10,000,” she explained.

Agra also stressed that her client never enjoyed the proceeds from the grant funds.

“The trial facts show that not a single rupiah was enjoyed by the defendant. There was no flow of funds to a personal account, no bonuses or fees,” she asserted.

She assessed that in the criminal corruption case, the element of self-enrichment was not fulfilled for the defendant.

“If anyone benefited, it was someone else, and that too on orders,” she said.

Her side hopes that the panel of judges will consider these facts in handing down the verdict.

This case is a development from the earlier case that ensnared Ida Bagus Mataram, the former Head of the Denpasar Culture Department and also the Chairman of FORMI Denpasar.