Corruption Allegations in Foreigner Stay Permit Process Point to Systemic Extortion in Public Services
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has assessed that alleged corruption in the processing of stay permits for foreign nationals (WNA), which reportedly involves officials from the Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services—including Deputy Minister Silmy Karim—serves as evidence that extortion practices in public services continue to occur systemically within the bureaucracy.
ICW’s Head of Legal and Investigation Division, Wana Alamsayah, stated that the case demonstrates that corruption in licensing services has not been eradicated despite ongoing bureaucratic reforms. “The involvement of a deputy minister and staff in the alleged corruption of foreign stay permit processing proves that extortion in public services is still occurring, even structurally and systemically,” Wana said in a statement on Friday.
According to Alamsyah, the common pattern of extortion in the bureaucracy involves making access to services difficult, delaying the issuance of permits, or creating administrative hurdles to pressure applicants into making illegal payments. He noted that this reflects a failure of the government to build a clean and corruption-free licensing system.
Furthermore, ICW highlighted the weakness of internal oversight within the Ministry of Immigration. Alamsyah argued that the Inspectorate General failed to detect or prevent the alleged extortion. He suggested this failure may stem from power imbalances within the bureaucracy and the potential pressure auditors face when supervising high-ranking officials. Consequently, ICW is urging the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to summon the Inspector General of the Ministry of Immigration to investigate why these practices went undetected.
ICW also urged the KPK to apply money laundering laws (TPPU) to trace the flow of funds from the alleged corruption. This approach would allow investigators to uncover other parties potentially benefiting from the crime, including the owners of accounts used to collect the funds. The watchdog also called for the KPK to summon all parties involved in the stay permit process since 2019, following findings by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) regarding suspicious transactions involving 96 bank accounts belonging to 35 Ministry of Immigration employees, totalling approximately Rp366.7 billion.
Additionally, ICW emphasised that the use of the State Officials’ Wealth Report (LHKPN) must be strengthened as an early warning system to detect unnatural increases in wealth. Alamsyah noted an unusual wealth increase of approximately Rp5 billion attributed to Silmy Karim between 2024 and 2025, which warrants attention from law enforcement agencies.