Police Investigate State Losses from Teacher Allowance Extortion in Bima

Investigators from the West Nusa Tenggara Regional Police (Polda NTB) are bolstering evidence of state financial losses in the suspected corruption case involving illegal levies and extortion against teachers receiving Remote Area Special Allowances (TKDT) in Bima Regency. “The development is still in the stage of completing data on losses,” said Director of Special Criminal Investigation at Polda NTB, Commissioner Pol. Fx. Endriadi, in Mataram on Monday. He explained that investigators are also coordinating with the NTB High Prosecutor’s Office as the case handling process has entered the stage of file review by the investigating prosecutor. “This is already at the filing stage, and investigators are awaiting P-21 (the file declared complete by the investigating prosecutor),” he stated. In the suspected corruption case regarding the distribution of TKDT for the 2019–2025 period, Polda NTB has named one suspect with the initials IR. As part of the investigation, police have conducted searches at the Bima Education, Culture, Youth, and Sports Office (Dikbudpora) and seized several documents as evidence. Endriadi mentioned that dozens of documents from the seizure are currently being examined, strongly suspected to be related to the illegal levy practices carried out by the suspect. In addition, investigators have examined 24 witnesses consisting of TKDT recipient teachers. The suspected illegal levies targeted primary school teachers receiving TKDT in Tambora Subdistrict, Bima Regency. Previously, Head of the Corruption Crime Subdirectorate of the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate at Polda NTB, AKBP Muhaemin, stated that investigators have found evidence of malicious intent or mens rea from the suspect. “The suspect prepared two special accounts to receive deposits from remote area allowance recipient teachers,” he said. Investigators, he continued, are still developing the case to trace the possibility of other parties benefiting from the illegal levy proceeds through tracking the suspect’s fund flows.