First hearing in Silmy Karim extortion case set for next Thursday
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The first hearing in the alleged extortion case concerning the processing of foreign nationals’ residence permits, in which Silmy Karim, Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections for 2024–2026, is a defendant, will be held at the Corruption Court of the Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday (29 October).
Central Jakarta District Court spokesperson Sunoto said the case was registered under Case Number 81/Pid.Sus-TPK/2026/PN Jkt.Pst.
“The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10.00 WIB, with the reading of the indictment on the agenda,” Sunoto told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday.
Six other defendants will be tried at the same time: Tessar Bayu Setyaji and Bagus Bramantyo, heads of sections at the Directorate of Residence Permits and Immigration Status, and Juniadi Sri Priambudi, head of the Limited Stay Permit Status Change Team.
The other defendants are Saffar Muhammad Godam, acting Director General of Immigration for 2024–2025; Jaya Saputra, head of the West Java regional office of the Directorate General of Immigration; and Ronald Arman Abdullah, head of the West Jakarta Class I Special Non-Checkpoints Immigration Office.
The case began when the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) conducted a sting operation over alleged corruption in the processing of foreign nationals’ residence permits.
As part of the operation, Silmy Karim, who was then Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections, turned himself in to the KPK.
On 4 June 2026, the KPK named eight people as suspects in the alleged extortion of foreign nationals over residence permits from 2022 to 2026 within the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, which later became the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections.
Alongside Silmy Karim, who served as Director General of Immigration from 2023 to 2024, the KPK named Saffar Muhammad Godam, acting Director General of Immigration from 2024 to 2025, as a suspect.
The six other suspects were Jaya Saputra, head of the West Java regional office of the Directorate General of Immigration; Ronald Arman Abdullah, head of the West Jakarta Class I Special Non-Checkpoints Immigration Office; Tessar Bayu Setyaji and Bagus Bramantyo, heads of sections at the Directorate of Residence Permits and Immigration Status; Juniadi Sri Priambudi, head of the Limited Stay Permit Status Change Team; and Gusti Benardiansyah, a staff member of the Residence Permit Subdirectorate.
The KPK alleges that the suspects received a total of about Rp145.5 billion through the extortion scheme between 2022 and 2026.