KPK Detains Former MPR Secretary-General Ma'ruf Cahyono Over 'Asalamualaikum Money' Bribery Code

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has officially detained former MPR Secretary-General Ma’ruf Cahyono on suspicion of demanding kickbacks from procurement vendors using a coded term, ‘asalamualaikum money’. Achmad Taufik Husein, Acting Director of Investigations at the KPK, revealed that the suspect allegedly demanded a cut from prospective partners within the MPR Secretariat General. In addition to the term ‘asalamualaikum money’, the suspect also used the code ‘burnt money’ to carry out his scheme. ‘Prospective partners were first asked for a fee by MC using the terms ’burnt money’ or ‘asalamualaikum money’,’ Taufik stated. Based on the investigation, the amount of the ‘asalamualaikum money’ was set at approximately 10 percent of the value of the work package targeted by the vendors. The illicit payments were allegedly received by Ma’ruf Cahyono, who served as MPR Secretary-General from 2016 to 2023, either directly or through a trusted associate identified by the initial Z. For his actions, Ma’ruf Cahyono has been charged under Article 12B of Law Number 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption, as amended by Law Number 20 of 2001, in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code. The KPK has detained MC for an initial period of 20 days, from 9 to 28 July 2026. He will be held at the KPK’s Red and White Building detention centre to undergo further legal proceedings. This case is an expansion of an investigation initiated on 20 June 2025 into alleged gratuities within the MPR Secretariat General. Following a series of witness summonses, the KPK named and announced Ma’ruf Cahyono as the primary suspect in early July 2025. Investigators also suspect that Ma’ruf Cahyono received a trading account at a brokerage firm from a vendor who secured a work package within the MPR Secretariat General.