The Extortion Methods of Pemalang Regent Anom Widiyantoro

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has stated that Pemalang Regent Anom Widiyantoro allegedly extorted members of the Pemalang Regency government and private parties, collecting approximately Rp1.98 billion to manage the resolution of a case within the anti-graft body. “In the team’s investigation, one use of the collected money was for the regent’s personal interest, namely to manage the settlement of a case at the KPK,” said Acting Director of KPK Investigations Achmad Taufik Husein at the KPK’s Red and White Building in Jakarta on Thursday (30/7). Taufik explained that the case Anom sought to resolve was related to an ongoing KPK inquiry. “There was a complaint in Pemalang Regency, and it had reached the investigation stage, involving bribery related to projects and positions,” he clarified. Initially, Anom instructed his confidant, Mohamad Haris, also known as Gus Haris, to meet with his brother-in-law, identified by the initials HAN. Anom asked Gus Haris to be introduced through HAN to the father of Setya Budi Dias, a police officer serving as an administrative staff member at the KPK. The father was identified as Lilik Budi Suprianto. Subsequently, Taufik said, Anom and Gus Haris met with Lilik on three occasions at restaurants in the Magelang and Semarang areas of Central Java. During one of these meetings, Lilik requested Rp2 billion to manage the case. “After AWI (Anom) and GHA (Gus Haris) were convinced that LBS (Lilik) could handle the case in question, an agreement was reached between AWI and GHA with LBS,” he stated. On 27 and 28 July 2026, Anom ordered Gus Haris to collect money from Pemalang Regency officials and private parties. The KPK suspects that a meeting between Anom, Gus Haris, and Lilik took place at a hotel in Semarang on 27 July 2026. During this meeting, the KPK alleges that a partial payment of Rp1.2 billion from the total Rp2 billion was handed over to manage the case. “After the handover, LBS returned to his home in the Purworejo area. The KPK team then secured LBS at his residence, and the Rp1.2 billion in cash was successfully seized,” he said. Meanwhile, Anom was arrested by the KPK at a hotel in Jakarta, and Gus Haris was arrested in Pemalang on the same day, 28 July 2026. The KPK had conducted its 18th sting operation of 2026 on 28 July, with one of the 21 individuals arrested being Pemalang Regent Anom Widiyantoro. The KPK subsequently brought 14 of the 21 individuals to Jakarta for further examination. They comprised five people arrested in Jakarta, eight from Pemalang, and one from Purworejo. On 30 July 2026, Anom Widiyantoro and three others appeared before the public in KPK orange vests after being named suspects. The case involves two clusters: first, the alleged extortion by Anom Widiyantoro against Pemalang Regency officials and private parties; second, the alleged extortion by a police officer serving at the KPK and his father against Anom Widiyantoro. In the first cluster, the suspects are Anom Widiyantoro and Gus Haris. In the second cluster, the suspects are Setya Budi Dias, the police officer serving at the KPK, and his father, Lilik Budi Suprianto.