KPK: Corruption Risks in Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services Categorised as 'Alert'
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has stated that corruption risk loopholes within the Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services (Imipas) have entered the ‘alert’ category. According to the KPK, this risk was captured by the Integrity Assessment Survey (SPI) conducted by the anti-corruption agency well before the sting operations took place on 2-3 June 2026.
In the 2025 SPI, the Ministry of Imipas obtained a score of 75.96, placing it in the alert category. Simultaneously, the assessment component from expert respondents stood at only 67. KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo noted in a written statement on Monday (8/6) that these results signal serious concerns regarding governance, supervision, and the perception of integrity within the ministry. Specifically, the Directorate General of Immigration received a score of 83.48 in the 2025 SPI.
Budi explained that the KPK views the SPI results not merely as final scores, but as indicators of emerging risk factors. The expert respondent assessments, in particular, serve as a critical area for evaluating and improving governance. The KPK emphasised that the SPI is an early warning system designed to map corruption risks and measure governance vulnerability for ministries, agencies, and local governments.
Historical trends show similar issues existed when immigration and correctional functions were still under the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. In 2023, the Directorate General of Immigration scored 82.85, but the expert component was 67.42. In 2024, the score dropped to 78.07, while the expert component rose to 79.94. The KPK maintains that these figures highlight the need for consistent, comprehensive integrity reforms, moving beyond administrative changes to implementing actual field supervision and an anti-corruption culture.
Consequently, the KPK is urging the Ministry of Imipas to take measurable corrective steps, including strengthening internal supervision, controlling gratification and conflicts of interest, and ensuring that public services are transparent, accountable, and conducted with full integrity.
The KPK recently uncovered an alleged extortion case involving foreign national residence permits and gratification within the Directorate General of Immigration between 2022 and 2026. During sting operations in Jakarta, West Java, and Bali on 2-3 June 2026, eighteen individuals were detained, with eight subsequently named as suspects. The suspects include Silmy Karim, the Acting Director General of Immigration for 2024-2025; Saffar Muhammad Godam, Director of Residence Permits; Jaya Saputra, Sub-directorate Head; and several others including former heads of immigration offices in Central and West Jakarta.
The suspects are charged with violating articles related to the Corruption Eradication Law in conjunction with the new Criminal Code. The KPK has also conducted searches at Silmy Karim’s residence in South Jakarta, seizing evidence including two sports cars, ten motorcycles (including Harley Davidsons), bicycles, jewellery, and various amounts of Indonesian Rupiah and foreign currencies, including US Dollars, Singapore Dollars, Euros, and Yen. Legal counsel for Silmy Karim has indicated they are considering a pretrial motion to challenge the KPK’s enforcement process.