KPK Chief: BNPB Head Will Be Summoned Only If Needed

SLEMAN — Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said whether to summon National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) chief Lieutenant General Suharyanto as a witness in an alleged corruption case involving the agency would depend on the needs of the investigation. Investigators will consider the relevance of the evidence required before deciding whether to call him.

“That would, of course, depend on the needs and relevance,” KPK chairman Setyo Budiyanto said in Sleman Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta, on Wednesday (14 October 2026).

Setyo said the need and relevance of summoning a witness would be determined through the KPK investigators’ analysis. “For example, if a party mentions someone, and investigators then analyse it and consider that it is relevant to the needs of the investigation, then a summons will be issued,” he said.

However, Setyo stressed that investigators would not insist on summoning someone if there was no relevance to the investigation. “But if there is none, the investigators will certainly not force it,” he said.

The KPK previously confirmed that it had conducted a sting operation at BNPB on 13 October 2026. Fourteen people were detained, including BNPB secretary-general Rustian and several private-sector figures.

Rustian was not named as a suspect in the alleged procurement corruption case, involving goods and services whose budget is suspected to have come from ready-to-use funds for disaster response.

On 14 October 2026, the KPK named five people as suspects in the case. One was Bima Setiawan, the younger brother of BNPB chief Lieutenant General Suharyanto, who also serves as one of his expert advisers.

According to information gathered, the other four suspects are Gabriel Purwaka Sigit, head of BNPB’s Subdirectorate for the Management of Assistance and Emergency Funds; Richard Erlangga, an expert adviser to the BNPB chief; and two private-sector figures, Syifa Nrika Ghifarin and Gery Prasetiawan.