JAKARTA - Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission, known as KPK, detained Deputy Immigration and Corrections Minister Silmy Karim and seven civil servants in Jakarta on June 4 over alleged extortion in immigration document processing, the country’s state-owned agency Antara reported.
KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo said the eight suspects would be held for an initial 20 days. The suspects include former acting immigration director-general Saffar Muhammad Godam, West Java Immigration Office head Jaya Saputra and West Jakarta Immigration Office head Ronald Arman Abdullah.
The case followed a KPK sting operation carried out on June 2–3 in the immigration directorate’s network, including the Class I Special Non-Border Control Immigration Office in West Jakarta. KPK had initially processed 17 people: eight state officials or civil servants and nine private-sector figures accused of acting as intermediaries in immigration document processing.
“In this case, the article used is Article 12(e), concerning alleged corruption through extortion in immigration document processing,” Budi said, referring to Indonesia’s anti-corruption law. He said investigators also applied Article 12B, which covers other receipts or gratuities.
KPK said the case was linked to the processing of foreign nationals’ stay-permit documents, including Permanent Stay Permit Cards, known as KITAP, and Limited Stay Permit Cards, known as KITAS. Antara reported that the West Jakarta operation was KPK’s 11th sting operation of 2026.
Investigators also seized assets during the operation. A separate Antara report said that KPK confiscated hundreds of grams of gold, foreign-currency cash, bank accounts and 33 vehicles, consisting of seven cars, 15 motorcycles and 11 bicycles.
The Directorate General of Immigration has previously said on May 13 that it had taken 6,779 administrative immigration actions from January 1 to May 5, including 2,026 stay-permit cancellations, 2,026 deportations, 1,404 detentions and 1,323 entries on the deterrence list.
The same immigration release said officials were reviewing 320 foreign nationals suspected of involvement in an international online gambling syndicate in Jakarta’s Hayam Wuruk area. It said most of them used visit stay permits, visas on arrival or visa-free visit facilities, with 15 sponsors identified as responsible for their presence in Indonesia.
