Fund Flow Modus in Silmy Case: Transferred Using 'Angel' and 'Band' Codes, Says KPK
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has detected a fund flow amounting to Rp366.7 billion in an alleged corruption case involving foreign national (WNA) stay permits at the Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services (formerly the Ministry of Law and Human Rights).
KPK Chairman Commissioner Pol. Setyo Budiyanto explained that this was revealed through a closed investigation following a case involving the Plan for the Use of Foreign Workers (RPTKA) at the Ministry of Manpower handled by the KPK in 2025, as well as data from the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK).
Budiyanto revealed that PPATK reports covering financial transactions of 35 Ministry employees between 2019 and 2025 identified fund flows across 96 bank accounts totalling Rp366.7 billion. Of this total, only Rp9.7 billion, or approximately 3%, originated from salaries and allowances. The remaining Rp357 billion, or 97%, is alleged to have come from parties applying for immigration services, such as visas, passports, labour permits, and stay permits.
During the investigation, SK (Silmy Karim), who served as Deputy Minister of Immigration and Correctional Services for 2025-2026 and Director General of Immigration for 2023-2024, is alleged to have engaged in extortion by demanding a share of stay permit processing fees through JS (Jaya Saputra), the Director of Temporary Stay Permits and current Head of the West Java Immigration Regional Office.
The modus operandi involved JS instructing BGS (Bagus Bramantyo) and TBS (Tessar Bayu Setyaji), both Sub-Directors within the Stay Permit Directorate, to collect extra fees or illegal levies from sponsors of foreign nationals. These levies applied to various documents, including extensions, status changes, and dependent additions. These orders were then passed down to staff, including GST (Gusti Bernardiansyah), who allegedly used nominee accounts—belonging to cleaning services, office boys, and relatives—to collect fees from agencies and sponsors.
Between 2022 and 2026, officials within the Directorate General of Immigration received at least Rp145.5 billion through direct cash, transfers, or layering methods. Budiyanto noted that certain officials, including SK, allegedly received approximately Rp100 million every Friday. To disguise these payments, specific distribution codes were used, such as ‘angels’ to refer to high-ranking officials, and terms related to ‘band concert payments’, where roles like ‘vocalist’, ‘guitarist’, and ‘choreographer’ represented specific amounts for specific individuals.
The KPK has named Silmy Karim as a suspect in the extortion and gratification case. Seven other officials, former officials, and staff members from the Directorate General of Immigration have also been named as suspects, including Saffar Godam, Ronald Amran Abdullah, Jaya Saputra, Tessar Bayu Setyaji, Bagus Bramantyo, Juniadi Sri Priambudi, and Gusti Bernardiansyah.