Pemalang Regent Arrested for Allegedly Extorting Officials to Pay Rp1.2 Billion Bribe to KPK Insiders
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has detained four individuals in connection with an alleged extortion case within the Pemalang Regency administration, Central Java. Those arrested include Pemalang Regent for the 2025-2030 period, Anom Widiyantoro; his confidant, Mohamad Haris alias Gus Haris; National Police member Setya Budi Dias Oktavianto, who served as an administrative staff member at the KPK; and Dias’s father, Lilik Budi Suprianto, a private citizen. Dias was also known to be an aide to a KPK commissioner.
Acting Director of Investigations at the KPK, Achmad Taufik Husein, stated that the detention was for an initial 20-day period from 30 July to 18 August 2026 at the KPK’s Red and White Building detention centre. The case was uncovered following a public tip-off, which led to a covert investigation and a sting operation.
Taufik explained that Anom, through Haris, allegedly demanded money from several regional officials and private partners for personal use. Haris collected a total of approximately Rp1.98 billion. The investigation revealed that a portion of the collected funds was intended to resolve a corruption case involving the regent by paying off individuals within the KPK. Haris, acting as Anom’s representative, met with his brother-in-law Harun to be introduced to Lilik. Anom, Haris, and Lilik subsequently met three times at restaurants in the Magelang and Semarang areas, where Lilik requested Rp2 billion to handle the case. During the second meeting, after Lilik convinced them he could manage the matter, an agreement was allegedly reached to prepare the funds. Ultimately, Haris handed over Rp1.2 billion from the collected money to Lilik. The KPK is still tracing the remaining funds collected by Haris.
The case broke on Tuesday, 28 July 2026, through a sting operation in Pemalang, Purworejo, and Jakarta. Haris was arrested in Pemalang after collecting money from a private party, while Anom was arrested at a hotel in Jakarta. The previous night, KPK had monitored a meeting in Semarang where the Rp1.2 billion was handed over to Lilik, who was later arrested at his home in Purworejo. In total, 21 people were detained during the operation, including the regent’s wife, Noor Faizah Maenofie, who was taken in for questioning. The KPK seized evidence totalling approximately Rp2.7 billion. Anom and Haris are charged under Article 12(e) and/or Article 12B of the Corruption Eradication Law, while Lilik and Dias are charged under Article 12(e) of the same law.