Former KPK Leaders Call for Standards in Auditing Calculations of State Losses

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Former leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Alexander Marwata, are pushing for the establishment of standard auditing for calculating state losses. He argues that the standard is more important than which institution is authorised to calculate losses. ‘Whoever performs the calculation must adhere to that standard and the results can be tested later in court,’ Alex said during a public hearing (RDPU) with the Legislative Body (Baleg) of the DPR, on Tuesday (19 May 2026). If the standard is formed, the final determination of whether there is any state loss in a corruption case rests with the panel of judges. ‘Ultimately, what determines and fixes the state’s losses in a corruption case is the court’s decision,’ said Alex. He said that the BPK could be overwhelmed, because most corruption cases in the regions rely on Articles 2 and 3 of Law No. 20 of 2001 on the Eradication of Corruption Offences (Tipikor), which require the element of state loss. ‘If later all corruption cases fall under Articles 2, 3, or Articles 603, 604, the calculation of state losses would become the authoritative prerogative of the BPK alone, for example; BPK would be overwhelmed,’ said Alex. He believes that the BPK would not be able to handle all audit requests if all calculations of state losses were solely charged to that body. ‘In the regions, perhaps 90 percent of corruption cases are under Articles 2 and 3. Imagine if everyone then takes it to the BPK; it would not be able to cope from a human resources perspective,’ said Alex. One example is when he was still at the KPK, where Alex urged KPK’s internal auditors to calculate state losses in corruption cases themselves. ‘KPK has forensic accountants, there is a dedicated unit to perform the calculations. There, go ahead, calculate it yourself,’ said Alex.