KPK Seizes Hundreds of Millions of Rupiah from the Minister of Transport's Senior Adviser in the Budi Karya Sumadi Era

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has seized hundreds of millions of rupiah from the Minister of Transport’s Senior Adviser (Staf Ahli Menteri Perhubungan) during the Budi Karya Sumadi era, Robby Kurniawan. The seizure was carried out after KPK questioned Robby Kurniawan as a witness in a case of alleged bribes related to the construction and maintenance of railway lines within the Directorate General of Railways (DJKA) of the Ministry of Transport (Kemenhub), on 18 May 2026. ‘In the continuation of the investigation into matters related to DJKA, yesterday (Monday, 18 May) investigators conducted interviews, including for the seizure of the repayment of a sum of money,’ said KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo at the KPK Red and White Building (Gedung Merah Putih) on Tuesday, 19 May 2026. The money, Budi said, is suspected to have originated from a private sector party and was then handed to Robby Kurniawan through his staff named Bambang Irawan Daeng Irate Djamal. Additionally, he revealed that on 18 May 2026 the KPK also questioned Danto Restyawan, Director of Traffic and Rail Transport at the Ministry of Transport for the 2019–2021 period, as a witness in the DJKA case. ‘The examination of Mr DT (Danto Restyawan) yesterday was also conducted to determine how DT’s knowledge as a witness might illuminate the alleged inducement of projects within DJKA’s scope,’ he said. He added that there has been no seizure of money from Danto Restyawan. The case came to light following a hand-taken operation (OTT) conducted by the KPK on 11 April 2023 at the Balai Teknik Perkeretaapian (BTP) Class I in the Central Java Region of DJKA Kemenhub. The BTP Class I in the Central Java Region has since been renamed BTP Class I Semarang. The KPK subsequently named 10 suspects who were immediately detained in connection with alleged corruption in the construction and maintenance of railway lines in Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi. As of 20 January 2026, the KPK had named and detained 21 suspects, including Sudewo. In addition, two corporations had been named as suspects in the case. The alleged corruption involved the double-track railway project from Solo Balapan to Kadipiro-Kalioso, the Makassar railway project in South Sulawesi, four railway construction projects and two supervision projects in Lampegan, Cianjur, West Java, and the repair of a level crossing between Java and Sumatra.