KPK Reveals Alleged Extortion Scheme by Sukoharjo Regent
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has revealed the structure of an extortion case allegedly carried out by Sukoharjo Regent Etik Suryani (ETS) against her subordinates, which led to her arrest in a sting operation on Thursday (9/7).
Deputy for Enforcement and Execution at the KPK, Asep Guntur Rahayu, outlined the chronology at a press conference at the KPK’s Red and White Building on Saturday (11/7). He said the case originated from public complaints within the Sukoharjo regency administration, which the anti-corruption body subsequently followed up.
“Sister ETS, as Regent of Sukoharjo for the 2021-2025 and 2025-2030 periods, issued a Regent’s Decree on the Receipt and Amount of Tax Collection Incentive Payments and a Regent’s Decree on the Receipt and Amount of Regional Levy Collection Incentive Payments at the Sukoharjo Regency Regional Finance and Asset Management Agency (BPKAD) for 2026,” Asep said.
Asep continued: “These two decrees are suspected to have been used by ETS as instruments to commit extortion through ‘collection fee deposits’ within the Sukoharjo BPKAD.”
Etik then asked the head of the Sukoharjo BPKAD, Richard Tri Handoko, to collect around 40 per cent of the incentives received by a number of BPKAD employees.
Asep said Etik’s demand was suspected to continue a tradition established by the previous regent, who is also her husband, Wardoyo Wijaya. Wardoyo served as Regent of Sukoharjo from 2010 to 2015, and again from 2016 to 2021.
“The coded commands included: ‘tambahan upah pungut kae ono tho?’ [is there an additional collection fee?]; ‘kowe mrene kan ora bayar’ [you come here without paying]; and ‘padakno karo bapak’ [match it with what was given to bapak],” Asep revealed.
“The meaning is that the amount deposited should be adjusted to what was deposited during the previous regent’s term,” he added.
During his tenure, Wardoyo also instructed BPKAD officials with the command ‘wes dilantik ojo mendeleng wae’ (you have been inaugurated, do not stay silent). The phrase referred to deposits made by employees to the regent at the time.
Returning to Etik’s case, Richard Tri Handoko, head of the Sukoharjo BPKAD, is suspected of having instructed echelon III officials within the agency to hand over the deducted collection fees to Nardi, secretary of the Sukoharjo BPKAD, from 2021 to 2026, on the regent’s orders.
Once collected, the money was then handed over to Etik. Over those five years, the total collection fee deposits received by Etik reached Rp2.93 billion.
“Furthermore, ETS is also suspected of instructing Brother TRM [Tri Mulyo], head of the General Affairs Division of the Sukoharjo Regency Regional Secretariat, to manage the ‘routine OPD deposits’,” Asep said.
Asep went on to say that the amount requested was also suspected to be an inheritance from the previous regent. Under Wardoyo’s administration, he also demanded deposits from General Affairs staff, with the command “golekno 500 akhir tahun” (meaning: find 500 million for the end of the year).
“On ETS’s orders, TRM collected deposits from the various OPD every year and ahead of the holiday allowance season,” Asep said.
In addition, Tri Mulyo is also suspected of having made deposits derived from fictitious expenditure records and markups in procurement at the regency’s General Affairs Division. However, investigators will look further into this information.
Between 2024 and 2026, Etik’s total receipts from the ‘routine OPD deposits’ collected by Tri Mulyo amounted to Rp840 million. In detail, this comprised Rp245 million in 2024, Rp350 million in 2025 and Rp245 million in 2026.
Meanwhile, the money collected by Richard Tri Handoko between 2022 and 2024 from these OPD deposits reached Rp1.2 billion.
“From these receipts, ETS used the funds, among other things, for personal interests,” Asep said.