Facts of Extortion Case Involving Foreign Nationals at Immigration Implicate Silmy Karim and Others
The Corruption Eradability Commission (KPK) is currently processing the legal cases of eight suspects related to the alleged extortion of foreign national (WNA) stay permits and the receipt of gratifications within the Directorate General of Immigration between 2022 and 2026. Among those implicated is Silmy Karim, the former Deputy Minister of Immigration and Correctional Affairs for 2025-2026, who previously served as the Director General of Immigration from 2023 to 2024.
The KPK has uncovered evidence of illegal ‘facilitation fees’ used to expedite the processing of stay permits for foreign nationals. These illegal charges ranged from Rp1 million to Rp1.5 million per person. According to KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo, while official processing times for stay permits range from three to seven days, these illegal fees were charged to bypass standard procedures. This stands in stark contrast to official fees, such as the Rp500,000 fee for a 30-day Limited Stay Permit (ITAS) or the Rp3,000,000 fee for a one-year ITAS.
The KPK has detained eight suspects for an initial 20-day period ending 23 June 2026. Alongside Silmy, the suspects include the Acting Director General of Immigration for 2024-2025, Saffar Muhammad Godam; Director of Stay Permits, Jaya Saputra; Sub-directorate officials Bagus Bramantyo and Tessar Bayu Setyaji; former Heads of Immigration Offices in Central and West Jakarta; and other staff members.
The investigation originated from the handling of the Foreign Worker Utilisation Plan (RPTKA) case at the Ministry of Manpower in 2025, alongside financial transaction reports from the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK). PPATK reports regarding transactions involving 35 employees of the Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Affairs between 2019 and 2025 revealed funds flowing through 96 bank accounts, totalling approximately Rp366.7 billion. Of this total, only about 3% (Rp9.7 billion) was sourced from salaries or allowances, while the remaining 97% (Rp357 billion) allegedly originated from applicants for immigration services, including visas, passports, and stay permits.
The KPK alleges that Silmy requested a share of the proceeds from stay permit processing through Jaya Saputra. Jaya subsequently instructed subordinates to collect ‘extra fees’ from foreign nationals, operating under the principle that ‘every click has a price.’ To facilitate this, certain officials allegedly used nominee accounts as ‘collection accounts’ to gather fees from service agencies or foreign nationals. Between 2022 and 2026, officials within the Directorate General of Immigration allegedly received at least Rp145.5 billion through direct cash, transfers, or intermediary layering.
Furthermore, the suspects, including Silmy, allegedly received weekly deposits every Friday, with Silmy reportedly receiving a regular share of Rp100 million per week. To disguise the distribution of these funds, the suspects used specific codes. For instance, the term ‘angel’ was used to refer to money distributions for high-ranking officials, while terms related to band concert payments—such as ‘vocalist’, ‘guitarist’, ‘backing vocal’, and ‘choreographer’—were used to represent the flow of money to various parties.