CSR Corruption

THE investigation into the corruption case of social programs run by the Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK) by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has uncovered long-hidden wrongdoing. The involvement of members of Commission XI of the House of Representatives (DPR), which among other things oversees financial affairs, also shows that state funds continue to be a source of scrounging, even in institutions that should have stringent supervision.

This case surfaced after a KPK investigation team searched a number of offices, including the office of BI Governor Perry Warjiyo, on Monday, December 9, 2024. The KPK suspects that the modus operandi of this corruption case that they have been investigating since August 2024 is the distribution of BI social program funds to a number of foundations managed by House members.

The existence of social programs in BI and the OJK has been misplaced from the start. We are familiar with corporate social responsibility or CSR programs in companies whose operational activities have a detrimental impact on society, such as pollution and social disruption. However, BI and OJK are not companies, but state institutions funded by the people's taxes. Their main task is to maintain monetary stability, regulate payment systems, and supervise the banking sector.

What is suspicious is that the amount of social program funds at BI has continued to increase over the years. In 2014, the budget allocation for BI's social programs—mixed with funds for fostering small, micro, and medium-sized enterprises, price stabilization, and digitalization acceptance—was Rp154.5 billion. In 2019, this amount rose to Rp470.1 billion. In 2024, the allocation for this budget item jumped to Rp1.586 trillion.

The fact that the funds were channeled to foundations affiliated with members of Commission XI of the House clarifies the old modus operandi: corruption under the guise of social assistance. Funds that should have flowed directly to the public were instead diverted through the political aspiration bodies of DPR members, campaign activities in constituent bases, and even money politics disbursement ahead of elections.

This misappropriation of funds not only harms the objectives of social programs but also damages the independence of BI and OJK, which should be free from political intervention. The task of Commission XI of the DPR is to oversee economic and financial sector policies, including regulating the budgets of state institutions such as BI and OJK. A conflict of interest immediately occurs when Commission XI of the DPR approves the allocation of funds for social programs, which BI then distributes through foundations affiliated with members of the DPR. We know that such a conflict of interest is just a step away from corruption.

This is not the first case of the misuse of social funds at BI. Previously, in 2003, BI's name was also tarnished by a corruption case involving Rp100 billion in social funds managed by the Indonesian Banking Development Foundation. At that time, the funds were suspected of flowing to a number of parties, including the banking committee of Commission XI of the DPR which handled the Bank of Indonesia Liquidity Assistance case, and which were used to resolve legal problems that had ensnared former BI officials.

Therefore, it is time to abolish social programs at the BI and OJK. This will at least shut down one of the loopholes for collusion to occur. In line with that, the KPK should not only implicate BI employees and DPR members who have become suspects. All those responsible for the distribution of social program funds in BI and the OJK, as well as members of the DPR who have been given such program funds, must be held accountable.