KPK Pursues Mastermind Behind Witness-Conditioning in Sudewo Case

The KPK has revealed that there are efforts to condition witnesses to give dishonest testimony in the case involving the appointment of village official candidates that ensnared Pati Regent Sudewo. The KPK is examining who the mastermind is that conditioned the witnesses to be uncooperative. ‘We will later investigate who the mastermind is, so that investigators can uncover parties attempting to consolidate these witnesses to be uncooperative, so that these witnesses do not provide to investigators information in full, honestly,’ said KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo at the KPK building in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Thursday (5 April 2026). Budi explained that the attempts to condition witnesses are taken into account by investigators when determining further steps. The KPK will also scrutinise such actions from other witnesses. ‘Of course this will also be a consideration for investigators to take subsequent steps against the parties concerned,’ he said. Budi said the matter of conditioning witnesses was obtained by the KPK from information from several parties. In addition, it was drawn from the initial evidence obtained by the KPK. ‘Yes, of course investigators have obtained information from several parties that describe the alleged actions by the witnesses,’ he said. Earlier, the KPK had questioned two witnesses regarding the alleged extortion case involving Sudewo. They were questioned because the KPK suspected they were gathering other witnesses to ‘condition’ their statements. The two witnesses were Sudiyono (SDY), Head of Angkatan Lor Village, and Noor Eva Khasanah (NEK), Subsection Head of the Administrative at Tambakromo Public Health Centre, Pati. The examinations were carried out on Wednesday (4 March 2026). ‘Investigators conducted hearings with the witness NEK, who is a civil servant serving as the Subdivision Head of the Administration at Tambakromo Public Health Centre, Pati, and SDY, the Head of Angkatan Lor Village,’ KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo told reporters on Thursday (5 April). In this case, the KPK has named four suspects, one of whom is the Pati Regent Sudewo. The KPK suspects that Sudewo charged Rp 125-150 million to each village official candidate. The fee was then increased by his subordinates to Rp 165-225 million for each candidate. The KPK has seized a total of Rp 2.6 billion in connection with the case. Sudewo also formed a team named the ‘Team 8’, consisting of Sudewo’s campaign team. The following are the identities of the four suspects in the extortion case of village official candidates in Pati: - Sudewo, the Pati Regent for the 2025-2030 term - Abdul Suyono, the Head of Karangrowo Village, Jakenan District - Sumarjiono, the Head of Arumanis Village, Jaken - Karjan, the Head of Sukorukun Village, Jaken.