Anti-Corruption Commission Announces Former Transport Minister Failed to Attend Recall Hearing
Jakarta — Indonesia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) announced that former Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi failed to attend a rescheduled witness hearing in connection with a major corruption case involving the Directorate General of Railways (DJKA) at the Transport Ministry.
The case concerns alleged bribery in the construction and maintenance of railway lines under the DJKA.
“The witness Budi Karya Sumadi in the DJKA case today (Monday, 2 March) confirmed that he could not attend due to illness,” said KPK Spokesman Budi Prasetyo at the KPK’s Red and White Building in Jakarta on Monday.
Accordingly, he stated that KPK investigators remain in intensive communication with Budi Karya Sumadi to reschedule the examination.
He explained that the KPK is attempting to reschedule the examination because it views the testimony from Budi Karya Sumadi as vital to the investigation of the DJKA case at the Transport Ministry.
“Certainly his testimony is much needed by investigators, including Sumadi in his capacity as Transport Minister during the period covered by this case. Moreover, this case has many angles,” he said.
Previously, the case emerged from a sting operation conducted by the KPK on 11 April 2023 at the Class I Railway Technical Centre for the Central Java Region of the DJKA at the Transport Ministry. The Centre for Central Java Region has since been renamed the Class I Railway Technical Centre Semarang.
The KPK subsequently designated 10 suspects, who were immediately detained, in connection with the alleged corruption case involving railway construction and maintenance projects in Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi.
By 20 January 2026, the KPK had designated and detained a total of 21 suspects. The KPK has also designated two corporations as defendants in the case.
The alleged corruption offences involved the following projects: construction of a parallel railway line on the Solo Balapan-Kadipiro-Kalioso route; construction of a railway line in Makassar, South Sulawesi; four railway construction projects and two supervision projects in Lampegan Cianjur, West Java; and improvement of a level railway crossing linking Java and Sumatra.
In the construction and maintenance of these projects, there are allegations that winners of project implementation contracts were predetermined by certain parties through manipulation from the administrative process through to the determination of tender winners.
Budi Karya Sumadi was previously questioned by the KPK in this case. He was last questioned by the KPK as a witness in the alleged DJKA corruption case on 26 July 2023.
On 18 February 2026, the KPK again summoned Budi Karya Sumadi. However, he was unable to attend because of a conflicting appointment. The KPK subsequently rescheduled the examination for 25 February 2026, but Budi Karya Sumadi was again unable to attend. The KPK eventually rescheduled the examination for 2 March 2026.