Head of Department Admits to Being Extorted by Tulungagung Regent: Refusing Puts Career at Risk

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) stated that heads of regional apparatus organisations (OPD) or department heads within the Tulungagung Regency Government, East Java, are anxious over allegations of extortion carried out by Tulungagung Regent Gatut Sunu Wibowo (GSW). “These officials, the OPD heads, were inaugurated at the end of December 2025. So, up to now, it has been roughly four months. So far, they have reached a stage of extreme distress with what has been conveyed or the practices carried out by GSW,” said KPK Deputy for Enforcement and Execution Asep Guntur Rahayu at the KPK’s Merah Putih Building, Jakarta, on Saturday night, 11 April 2026. Asep explained that they are distressed over the alleged extortion by Gatut Sunu. The extortion was carried out by Gatut using the method of threatening the department heads through resignation statements from their positions and civil servant (ASN) status. “So, in the end, they cannot do anything because they are locked by that letter. If they refuse, they can be dismissed or resign on that very day,” he said. Furthermore, Asep continued, the department heads in Tulungagung are already distressed because they are frequently billed for money two to three times a week by Dwi Yoga Ambal (YOG), aide to Gatut Sunu. “They have reached a point of distress because YOG keeps billing the OPD heads two to three times a week,” he stated. Previously, the KPK conducted a sting operation (OTT) in the Tulungagung area, East Java, on 10 April 2026. The KPK arrested 18 people in that OTT, including Tulungagung Regent Gatut Sunu Wibowo and his younger brother, who is also a member of the Tulungagung DPRD, Jatmiko Dwijo Saputro. A day later, on 11 April 2026, the KPK brought Gatut Sunu Wibowo and his brother along with 11 others to Jakarta for intensive examination. On the same date, the KPK announced Gatut Sunu Wibowo (GSW) along with Dwi Yoga Ambal (YOG), his aide, as suspects in the alleged extortion and other receipts case within the Tulungagung Regency Government for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.