Silmy Karim’s Defence Says Extortion Case Will Be Difficult to Prove

Lawyer Soleman B. Ponto, representing former Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections Silmy Karim, said the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors had acknowledged that no sting operation had been carried out against his client. He said the extortion case against Silmy would be difficult to prove.

“The point is that the prosecutors themselves have acknowledged there was no sting operation against Mr Silmy,” Soleman told reporters at the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday (10 November).

Soleman said prosecutors had argued in their response that the absence of a sting operation did not diminish their case against Silmy.

He said this admission differed from the media framing when the KPK arrested several other suspects, which had portrayed Silmy as if he had also been caught in a sting operation.

“From the beginning, it was assumed that Mr Silmy had been caught red-handed, but the prosecutor said today that no such arrest had taken place. What is now being alleged is extortion,” Soleman said.

Soleman said the case had initially been framed as a sting operation. “If it has shifted from a sting operation to extortion from the outset, what will it shift to after extortion? We will see,” he said.

Meanwhile, lawyer Abdul Gafur Sangaji said that, aside from the question of a sting operation, the prosecutors’ response had essentially repeated the indictment.

He said prosecutors had acknowledged that Silmy’s alleged actions had not been set out comprehensively and would only be proved during the trial on the merits.

Gafur also said prosecutors had acknowledged that Silmy was not linked to the Rp168.9 billion figure, but only to Rp1.2 billion.

Silmy Karim said he had gone to the KPK building alone on the evening of 3 June 2026 to co-operate. He said no money or other items connected with the case had been found on him at the time.

“There was never a sting operation, and that is not in accordance with the Corruption Eradication Law,” Silmy said.

Silmy said the impression that he had been caught red-handed continued to stick. In his view, that impression had become the entry point for the extortion and gratification charges against him.

In this case, Silmy Karim is charged with extortion involving Rp168.9 billion in connection with the processing of residence permits for foreign nationals. The alleged acts were carried out with acting Director-General of Immigration Saffar Muhammad Godam, who served from 2024 to 2025; Residence Permit Director Jaya Saputra; Directorate of Residence Permits sub-directors Bagus Bramantyo and Tessar Bayu Setyaji; Head of the Limited Stay Permit (ITAS) Status Conversion Team Juniadi Sri Priambudi; and Residence Permit Sub-Directorate staff member Gusti Bernardiansyah. Their cases are being prosecuted separately.

Silmy is also charged with receiving Rp2.5 billion in cash and shares valued at Rp31 billion as gratification.