KPK suspects tobacco companies in Central and East Java linked to Customs Authority corruption case
Jakarta — The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) suspects tobacco companies in Central Java and East Java are linked to an alleged corruption case involving the management of excise duties at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, Ministry of Finance.
“At this point, there are some from Central Java, and also from East Java,” said KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo to journalists in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, Budi stated that the KPK will verify further with suspects in the alleged bribery case involving counterfeit goods imports, as well as witnesses regarding which tobacco companies allegedly provided money to officials at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise.
“Of course, we will review this further and request statements from both suspects and witnesses regarding which tobacco companies provided the money,” he said.
According to him, the request for statements is necessary for the KPK to understand the mechanism of excise duty implementation and irregularities occurring in the field.
“We need to understand how the excise duty mechanism works, so that we can examine both the standard procedures and field practices. Thus, we will identify where the deviations related to excise duties have occurred,” he said.
He hopes this approach will enable the KPK to obtain a complete picture of money transfers from tobacco companies in relation to excise duty arrangements with the Customs Authority.
Previously, on 4 February 2026, the KPK conducted a raid at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, Ministry of Finance.
On the same date, the KPK revealed that one of those arrested in the raid was Rizal, Head of the West Sumatra Regional Customs Office.
On 5 February 2026, the KPK announced that six of the 17 people arrested were designated as suspects in the alleged bribery and gratification case related to counterfeit goods imports at the Customs Authority.
They are Rizal (RZL), former Director of Enforcement and Investigation at the Customs Authority from 2024 to January 2026; Sisprian Subiaksono (SIS), Head of the Intelligence Subdirectorate for Enforcement and Investigation at the Customs Authority; and Orlando Hamonangan (ORL), Head of the Customs Intelligence Section.
Additionally, there is John Field (JF), owner of Blueray Cargo; Andri (AND), Head of the Import Documentation Team at Blueray Cargo; and Dedy Kurniawan (DK), Operations Manager of Blueray Cargo.
On 26 February 2026, the KPK announced Budiman Bayu Prasojo (BBP), Head of the Excise Intelligence Section at the Enforcement and Investigation Directorate of the Customs Authority, as a new suspect in the case following clarification from witnesses, particularly regarding a raid on a safe house in the Ciputat area, Tangerang Selatan, Banten, on 13 February 2026, which also resulted in the seizure of approximately Rp5.19 billion in cash found in five suitcases.
On 27 February 2026, the KPK announced it was investigating alleged corruption in the management of excise duties, an investigation prompted particularly by the seizure of cash from the safe house in Ciputat, believed to originate from customs and excise operations.