KPK Flags Rp2.37 Trillion Regional Budget Leak, Highlights Three Corruption Vulnerabilities

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has mitigated potential leakages in the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) amounting to Rp2.37 trillion during the first semester of 2026. Based on its mapping, the KPK identified three stages of APBD management that are most susceptible to corruption: planning, budgeting, and the procurement of goods and services (PBJ).

KPK Deputy for Coordination and Supervision, Ely Kusumastuti, stated that the potential leakages were detected through the Monitoring Controlling Surveillance for Prevention (MCSP) instrument. The Rp2.37 trillion figure does not represent confiscated money or the return of state losses, but rather potential irregularities that were discovered and corrected before they could cause regional losses.

‘The entry point for regional financial leakage is when implementation does not comply with regulations. This means there is already an intention to commit corruption, an abuse of power in policy-making,’ Ely asserted in an official statement cited on Sunday (9/8). Of the total, the largest potential leakage occurred during the budgeting stage, valued at Rp1.58 trillion, followed by the planning stage at Rp715 billion and the procurement of goods and services at Rp71 billion.

‘Planning and budgeting are like a glass house, or can be seen transparently, so if there is already an intention, we can close it from the planning stage,’ Ely said. The KPK has also mapped recurring corruption patterns. In East Java, for instance, a bribery case involving the Malang City DPRD’s budget amendment discussions in 2015 serves as a lesson on vulnerabilities in the planning stage, while cases involving community group grants (Pokmas) from 2019-2020 highlight risks in budgeting. Hand-catching operations (OTT) in Tulungagung Regency in 2018 and Sidoarjo Regency in 2020 exemplify vulnerabilities in the procurement of goods and services.

‘We are not judging. We must maintain the spirit to improve ourselves. We are assisting regional governments with comprehensive evaluations to prevent recurrence,’ Ely said. The KPK also found patterns requiring vigilance, such as DPRD principal thought proposals (Pokir) not being recorded in the Regional Government Information System (SIPD), including cross-electoral district proposals and work items not matching original proposals. In the budgeting stage, potential irregularities include fictitious official travel, inappropriate honorariums, duplication of recess budgets, and deviations in social assistance and regional financial aid. In PBJ, risks include providers repeatedly winning work packages, unusual system activity, and suspected manipulation of e-purchasing transactions.

‘The principles of PBJ in e-purchasing are effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, and competitiveness. Using e-purchasing does not mean it closes the door to manipulation,’ Ely noted. Meanwhile, Ministry of Home Affairs Secretary General Tomsi Tohir stressed the importance of building integrity as a governance culture. ‘The strengthening framework begins with instilling values and exemplary conduct as a culture, system-based digitalisation and performance, and the Government Internal Supervisory Apparatus (APIP) as a supervisory partner,’ he said.

Based on these findings, the KPK recommended five preventive measures: strengthening the APIP function, reviewing grant budgets, social assistance, DPRD Pokir and regional financial aid, conducting field verification of grant expenditure for 2027, consolidating PBJ, and carrying out periodic monitoring with regional governments. These efforts are being conducted with 39 regional governments in East Java and eight in Bali to ensure corruption prevention begins at the planning stage, before budgets are realised.