CV Visa Agung Bali Claims Victim Status in KPK Immigration Extortion Probe

CV Visa Agung Bali has spoken out after its director and staff were questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) regarding corruption in the processing of residence permits for foreign nationals at the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections (Imipas). The company’s legal counsel, F Yanuar Siregar, stated that his client was not a perpetrator, but rather a party that was harmed by the corrupt practices within the ministry. “CV Visa Agung Bali and similar businesses in Bali are concretely victims of what happened in the immigration service,” Yanuar said in a written statement on Thursday. Yanuar emphasized that the examination conducted by KPK investigators was part of an effort to uncover the case and improve the immigration system in Indonesia. He also clarified that Ni Luh Gede Ratih Wijayastuti, who was examined, is not an operational staff member of CV Visa Agung Bali. “We need to convey that CV Visa Agung Bali is completely unaware of the technical processes in the field because the execution and processing are carried out by third parties. We also assert that Ni Luh Gede Ratih Wijayastuti is not an operational staff member of CV Visa Agung Bali,” Yanuar said. According to Yanuar, this clarification is important to prevent misunderstandings regarding his client’s position and involvement in the case being investigated by the KPK. He affirmed that CV Visa Agung Bali fully supports the KPK’s efforts to investigate the case thoroughly to create a better immigration system and eliminate processes outside standard operating procedures. The KPK previously stated that the visa service bureaus examined in this case are positioned as victims. They were allegedly asked to make payments outside the official tariff so that the immigration documents they submitted could be processed by officials. This case involves alleged extortion related to the processing of residence permits for foreign nationals within the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections for the 2022-2026 period. The KPK has named former Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections, Silmy Karim, along with seven officials from the Directorate General of Immigration, as suspects. KPK investigators have examined 12 witnesses in Bali over two days, with the majority coming from service bureaus and companies engaged in visa and immigration document processing.