KPK: Two sting operations in Muara Enim expose 'perfect' budget corruption

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has highlighted a bribery case in Muara Enim Regency, South Sumatra, involving private parties, the Regent, and an employee of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK). The KPK stated that the collusion in this case was arranged with ‘perfect’ planning.

‘Corruption occurred long before the planning or budgeting stages even began. Then, at the very end of the process chain, corruption occurred again to cover up findings of irregularities in the budget management,’ explained KPK spokesperson Budi to reporters on Saturday (13/6/2026). ‘Thus, these two caught-in-the-act events reveal alleged corrupt practices in budget management that were ’perfect’, from start to finish.’

He stated that from the outset, the procurement of a Smart Board project at the Education and Culture Office (Disdikbud) in Muara Enim Regency was based on a transactional relationship. The company providing the Smart Board, PT Millenium Solusi Abadi (MSA), bribed Muara Enim Regent Edison as the highest policy maker. Through its marketing representative, Cory Erin Hardi (CRH), PT MSA held a meeting with the Secretary of the Muara Enim Disdikbud, Abi Nurwardani (ABN). During the meeting, Cory gave Abi Rp 500 million, ostensibly ‘to maintain good relations’.

‘The KPK found that the alleged bribery had been rolling long before the official project planning or budgeting process began. The private party deliberately gave ’planting money’ to the regent with the motive of maintaining good relations,’ Budi explained. This payment was essentially an effort by PT MSA to ensure it would always be awarded projects by Muara Enim Regency, effectively guaranteeing victory in every tender for various procurements. The KPK termed this money ‘Ijon’ (advance payment for future projects). ‘This ’ijon’ practice in the procurement of goods and services locks in the company so that it will later be appointed again as the winner of project tenders,’ he said.

After ‘good relations were maintained’ between PT MSA and Muara Enim Regency, findings emerged from a BPK audit regarding the Smart Board procurement at Disdikbud. Based on the BPK’s examination, the audit results revealed values exceeding the materiality threshold in the Audit Result Report (LHP) for the Muara Enim Regency Government’s finances. Upon learning this, Muara Enim Regent Edison instructed his subordinate, Rusdi Hairullah (RSH), the Assistant for Economic and Development Affairs, to handle the issue. Rusdi then asked Abi to meet someone named Augusz Dewanggara, or Angga (AGG), a private party said to be capable of ‘conjuring’ the audit, in coordination with a BPK employee named Titin Rita Lestari.

Their meeting led to negotiations to alter the BPK audit results, culminating in an agreed price of Rp 1.6 billion. Angga subsequently coordinated with BPK employee Titin Rita Lestari to arrange the audit changes. Regent Edison wanted the BPK audit results altered so that Muara Enim Regency could maintain the Unqualified Opinion (WTP) predicate it had achieved in 2025. The money to ‘conjure’ the BPK audit results through Angga was allegedly sourced from PT MSA’s bribe to Regent Edison. Consequently, the KPK concluded that the bribery practices in Muara Enim Regency represent a chain cycle of failure in regional budget management.

‘When transactional practices enter from the very beginning, the subsequent stages of financial management risk spawning new chains of corruption to cover up previous irregularities. The impact of the bribe at this earliest phase triggers a domino effect that damages the following stages,’ Budi stated. ‘The next corruption vulnerabilities range from the phase of drafting the Owner’s Estimate (HPS), which is engineered and marked up, to the implementation phase by lowering the quality specifications of goods and services or cutting work volumes, and finally to the accountability phase by manipulating financial reports and fabricating administrative documents so that the accountability report appears legitimate on paper,’ he added.

For context, Regent Edison has been named a suspect by the KPK in two interrelated cases. First, Regent Edison was named as the recipient of bribes from the company providing the Smart Boards procured at the Muara Enim Disdikbud. From this first case, the KPK conducted further investigation and uncovered another related case, namely the allegation that Regent Edison bribed a BPK employee. The bribe was given after the BPK audited the Muara Enim Regency Government and found notes that could affect the Unqualified Opinion (WTP) predicate. The BPK found these audit results at Disdikbud regarding the Smart Board procurement, which was deemed inconsistent with Muara Enim Regency’s budget availability. Regent Edison ultimately bribed the BPK employee so that Muara Enim Regency could retain the WTP predicate obtained in 2025. The bribe money given by Regent Edison to the BPK employee is also suspected to have originated from the bribe he received from the private party.

In the procurement bribery case at the Muara Enim Disdikbud, Regent Edison was named a suspect alongside three other parties: 1. The 2026 Secretary of the Education and Culture Office, Abi Nurwardani; 2. The Regent’s nephew, Adi Triyadi; and 3. PT Millenium Solusi Abadi marketing representative, Cory Erin Hardi. Meanwhile, in the BPK employee bribery case, Regent Edison is a suspect alongside four other parties: 1. Angga, a private party; 2. Titin Rita Lestari, a civil servant or Technical Controller; 3. Cory Erin Hardi, marketing representative of PT Millenium Solusi Abadi; and 4. Fika, a Director of PT Millenium Solusi Abadi.