Immigration Corruption Suspects Panicked as KPK Probed RPTKA Case, Yet Continued Graft
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) suspects that figures in an alleged extortion case within the Directorate General of Immigration panicked when the anti-graft body began investigating a separate extortion case involving the approval of foreign worker utilization plans (RPTKA) at the Ministry of Manpower. “When the RPTKA case at the Ministry of Manpower was handled by the KPK at that time, in 2025, and it came to light, these parties allegedly panicked and immediately withdrew some money,” said KPK Chairman Setyo Budiyanto at the KPK’s Red and White Building in Jakarta on Thursday (4/6).
Setyo stated the immigration suspects then withdrew money from multiple accounts registered under other people’s names. “The withdrawal process may have been gradual because they used nominee names, other people, and so on,” he said.
Afterwards, he continued, the KPK suspects the immigration figures used the withdrawn cash to purchase gold. According to him, this gold was even used to buy immovable assets. “Usually, transactions for purchasing immovable property use rupiah, with transactions at the bank, transfers, and so forth. However, this case involved gold pieces,” he said.
Previously, from 2 to 3 June 2026, the KPK conducted a sting operation (OTT) related to alleged corruption in the processing of residence permits for foreign nationals, such as Permanent Stay Permit Cards (KITAP) and Limited Stay Permit Cards (KITAS). The operation was reportedly the eleventh this year. In the operation, the KPK arrested 17 people, consisting of eight state officials or civil servants and nine private sector intermediaries involved in processing immigration documents. Some of those 17 individuals are the Head of the Class I Special Non-TPI Immigration Office for West Jakarta, Ronald Arman Abdullah; the Head of the Directorate General of Immigration’s Regional Office for West Java, Jaya Saputra, who previously served as Director of Stay Permits and Immigration Status from November 2024 to October 2025; and the Acting Director General of Immigration from October 2024 to April 2025, Saffar Muhammad Godam.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister for Immigration and Corrections Silmy Karim surrendered by turning himself in at the KPK on 3 June 2026. On 4 June 2026, Silmy Karim (SK), Saffar Muhammad Godam (SMG), Jaya Saputra (JS), Ronald Arman Abdullah (RAA), and four other individuals officially became suspects and detainees of the KPK after appearing in the anti-graft body’s orange vests. The four other individuals are Sub-Directorate Heads at the Directorate of Stay Permits and Immigration Status, Tessar Bayu Setyaji (TBS) and Bagus Bramantyo (BGS); Team Leader for ITAS Status Transfer, Juniadi Sri Priambudi (JSP); and Sub-Directorate of Stay Permits staff member, Gusti Benardiansyah (GST). They were named suspects by the KPK in a case of alleged extortion in the processing of foreign nationals’ residence permits from 2022 to 2026, which occurred within the Ministry of Law and Human Rights and shifted to the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections. They are suspected of amassing Rp145.5 billion during that period.
Setyo said the KPK suspects Silmy Karim began demanding a cut when he served as Director General of Immigration at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights from 2023 to 2024. The sting operation is linked to the alleged processing of residence permits for foreign nationals, namely the Permanent Stay Permit Card (KITAP) and the Limited Stay Permit Card (KITAS). The KPK exposed corrupt practices in processing foreign nationals’ stay permits (KITAS/KITAP) during a sting operation that implicated the Head of the West Jakarta Immigration Office. The KPK secured private sector parties and West Jakarta Immigration officials in the sting operation related to alleged bribery for processing KITAS and KITAP for foreign nationals. The KPK suspects the defendants in the immigration permit extortion case set up a towing company as a front to launder the Rp145.5 billion in corruption proceeds. The KPK revealed the alleged extortion at the Directorate General of Immigration worth Rp145.5 billion involving Deputy Minister for Immigration and Corrections Silmy Karim and seven other suspects.