KPK Urged to Eradicate Import Mafia
Jakarta, VIVA – Counter-intelligence analyst R. Gautamed Wiranegara has requested that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) uncover the masterminds behind import corruption. He believes the public must not be trapped by the narrative of focusing solely on those receiving payments.
According to him, in corruption cases related to import trade, the primary focus should not merely be on who receives envelopes, but rather on who possesses the ability to influence decisions within the national import chain.
“Import corruption does not operate in a vacuum. It lives within a system involving many institutions, many permits, many stages, and many actors. Therefore, the main question is not who receives the money, but who is able to control the process,” Gautama stated in his briefing on Monday, 22 June 2026.
He noted that the national import chain involves various agencies, ranging from the Ministry of Trade, BPOM (Indonesian Food and Drug Authority), Quarantine services, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Agriculture, to port operators and shipping companies. In such a long system, it is difficult to imagine that all manipulation occurs at only one bureaucratic node.
Trial facts have also begun to show that alleged fund flows are not only related to individuals within the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC).
Several names linked to officials in BPOM and the Ministry of Trade have emerged during the reading of interrogation reports (BAP) in court. However, until now, the primary focus of the investigation remains centred on the case originating from the initial sting operation (OTT).
Gautama warned that in the world of counter-intelligence, there is a phenomenon known as “partial network capture,” a condition where authorities successfully capture part of a network but fail to identify all the nodes influencing the system.
As a result, the field perpetrators are visible, the methods are visible, and even parts of the money flow are visible. However, the centre of influence and the mechanisms that allow such practices to persist may not necessarily be uncovered.
“If only the people receiving the money are exposed, while the mechanism that allows the money to continue flowing remains untouched, then the system will simply produce new perpetrators. The individuals may change, but the modus operandi remains the same,” he said.
He assessed that the greatest challenge for the KPK currently is no longer proving the existence of bribes to specific individuals, but rather explaining how a network is able to influence the processes of risk assessment, goods inspection routes, document verification, and the various permits required for import activities.