ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The President Director of PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel), Nugroho, has been reported to Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for allegedly being involved in a massive IDR174 billion corruption scandal.
The report was filed by the Anti-Corruption Student Coalition, which suspects irregularities in fund flows and monopolistic practices within the state-owned telecom subsidiary.
Amri, the coalition coordinator, did not provide specific details about the case but highlighted a stark discrepancy between the alleged embezzled amount and Nugroho’s official asset report. According to the 2023 State Official Wealth Report (LHKPN), Nugroho’s declared net worth stood at IDR 84 billion, with over IDR 43 billion in cash and cash equivalents.
Amri further alleged that part of the funds had been funneled to two women, identified only by their initials ADR and FE, prompting him to urge the KPK to act swiftly on the report.
KPK spokesperson Tessa Mahardika Sugiarto explained that every report submitted to the commission undergoes an initial verification process.
“If supporting documents are incomplete, the reporter will be asked to provide additional information,” Tessa said.
He added that reports remain confidential until they enter the investigation phase and can only be made public if doing so does not interfere with the investigation. The verification process also determines whether the case falls within KPK’s jurisdiction.
Illegal A2P SMS Monopoly
Nugroho is also suspected of involvement in an illegal monopoly scheme in the corporate SMS (A2P SMS) business—an industry worth billions of rupiah per month, used extensively by banks and e-commerce platforms. Sources within Telkom revealed that Telkomsel abruptly transferred its partnership from PT Mustika Indonesia to a new company called Kode Digital Nusantara (KDN).
Suspiciously, the cooperation with KDN was reportedly approved within a single day, directly signed off by Nugroho.
PT Mustika Indonesia had long served as the fund manager for A2P SMS services used by the State Intelligence Agency (BTS). The sudden transfer has raised concerns over national data security.
KDN, a company with no significant track record in the telecommunications sector, was allegedly granted exclusive rights without an open bidding process—a direct violation of transparency principles that state-owned enterprises are required to uphold.
“This shows that a state-owned corporation is being sacrificed for the benefit of political elites,” said a Telkom employee who declined to be named. (AT Network)
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