Construction of Holiday Allowance Extortion Case Forces Cilacap Regent to Spend Eid in KPK Detention
The Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) designated Cilacap Regent Syamsul Aulia Rachman (AUL) and Regional Secretary (Sekda) Sadmoko Danardono (SAD) as suspects in an alleged extortion case involving holiday allowances (THR) on Saturday, 14 March 2026. This status means both will spend their Eid al-Fitr celebration in detention.
Syamsul and Sadmoko will be held for an initial 20-day period from 14 March to 2 April 2026 at the KPK’s State Detention House (Rutan) in the Red-White Building branch in Jakarta.
“Based on sufficient evidence, the KPK has designated AUL and SAD as suspects. Subsequently, we have ordered the detention of the suspects for the initial 20-day period from 14 March to 2 April 2026,” stated KPK Deputy for Prosecution and Execution Asep Guntur Rahayu during a press conference at the Red-White Building in South Jakarta on Saturday, 14 March.
Construction of the case
The holiday allowance case involving Syamsul and Sadmoko originated from a public complaint. According to the KPK, Syamsul had ordered Sadmoko to collect 515 million rupiah for personal use and the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda) within Cilacap Regency.
In response to Syamsul’s directive, Sadmoko subsequently assembled three individuals: Sumbowo (SUM) as Assistant I of Cilacap Regency, Ferry Adhi Dharma (FER) as Assistant II of Cilacap Regency, and Budi Santoso (BUD) as Assistant III of Cilacap Regency. However, these three names do not appear on the suspect list announced by the KPK.
“To meet these needs, SUM, FER, and BUD (assistants of Cilacap Regency) requested funds from each regional agency in Cilacap Regency with a ‘collection target’ reaching 750 million rupiah,” stated Asep.
Asep explained that the holiday allowance request targeted 25 regional agencies, two District General Hospitals (RSUD), and 20 community health centres.
“Initially, each work unit (satker) was targeted to deposit 75 million to 100 million rupiah. However, the actual deposits received varied, ranging from 3 million to 100 million rupiah per regional agency,” he noted.
The deposit amount from each regional agency was determined based on considerations by FER. If a regional agency could not meet the specified amount, they were required to report to FER for reconsideration and the target would be reduced according to agreement.
“Subsequently, SAD also issued orders to SUM, FER, and BUD to communicate and coordinate the money request from AUL regarding holiday allowance requirements for personal and external purposes, which had to be collected before the 2026 Eid holiday break on 13 March 2026,” Asep said.
Asep continued that if an agency had not made its payment, it would be followed up by SUM, FER, and BUD within their respective areas of responsibility, assisted by the Head of Civil Service Police (Satpol PP) and Head of Food Security Service of Cilacap Regency.
“During the period of 9-13 March 2025, 23 regional agencies of Cilacap Regency had deposited the Regent’s request, collected through FER, totalling 610 million rupiah. These deposited funds were to be handed over by FER to SAD as Cilacap’s Regional Secretary,” he explained.
However, on 13 March, coinciding with the deadline for the collection target, the KPK conducted a raid (OTT) against 27 individuals, of whom 13 underwent further investigation and were brought to Jakarta.
After 24 hours of questioning, the KPK designated only Syamsul and Sadmoko as suspects. Both now face charges of violating Article 12 paragraph e and/or Article 12B of Law No. 31 of 1999 concerning the Eradication of Corruption Offences as amended by Law No. 20 of 2001 concerning the eradication of corruption offences, in conjunction with Article 20 paragraph c of Law No. 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code.