KPK: Immigration Case Systemic, Extortion Occurred from Central to Regional Levels

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) considers the alleged extortion case within the Directorate General of Immigration to be systemic, with the criminal acts occurring not only at the central level but also in the regions. “So, those in the regions, at the immigration offices, they were also asking for money,” said KPK Chairman Setyo Budiyanto at the KPK’s Merah Putih Building in Jakarta on Thursday. He stated that this is why the KPK’s hand arrest operations (OTT) between 2-3 June 2026 did not only target officials at the central or ministry level. “That is why yesterday’s activities were not only in Jakarta, but also in several other places,” he said. Furthermore, he explained that the KPK views the alleged extortion by Immigration as systemic because there was a chain of command from top-level officials downwards, as well as a flow of money from the lower ranks upwards. “The command process is top-down, while the money or the deposit process is bottom-up, from the bottom to the top. They collected it at the bottom using several nominee accounts, such as those belonging to office boys, cleaning service staff, or relatives,” he stated. During the operation, the KPK arrested 17 people consisting of eight state administrators or civil servants, and nine private sector individuals who acted as intermediaries in the processing of immigration documents. Among the 17 individuals were the Head of the West Jakarta Class I Special Non-TPI Immigration Office, Ronald Arman Abdullah; the Head of the West Java Regional Office of the Directorate General of Immigration, Jaya Saputra, who had served as Director of Stay Permits and Immigration Status from November 2024 to October 2025; and the Acting Director General of Immigration for the period October 2024 to April 2025, Saffar Muhammad Godam. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections, Silmy Karim, surrendered himself by visiting the KPK on 3 June 2026. On 4 June 2026, Silmy Karim, Saffar Muhammad Godam, Jaya Saputra, Ronald Arman Abdullah, and four other individuals were officially named as suspects and detained by the KPK after appearing in the anti-corruption body’s orange vests. The four others are the Head of Sub-Directorate at the Directorate of Stay Permits and Immigration Status, Tessar Bayu Setyaji and Bagus Bramantyo; the Head of the ITAS Status Transfer Team, Juniadi Sri Priambudi; and a staff member of the Stay Permit Sub-Directorate, Gusti Benardiansyah. They were named as suspects by the KPK in an alleged extortion case related to the processing of foreign nationals’ stay permits during 2022-2026, which occurred within the Ministry of Law and Human Rights before shifting to the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections. They are suspected of amassing Rp145.5 billion during that period.