Vocalists and Angels: KPK Uncovers Coded Jargon in Immigration Graft Payouts

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has revealed that codes were used to disguise the distribution of extorted money in the processing of foreign nationals’ residence permits at the Directorate General of Immigration, a case that has ensnared Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections Silmy Karim. These codes included terms like ‘angel’ and elements of a band or music group. ‘To conceal the distribution of money to the parties involved, the person in charge of distributing it used special distribution codes, such as the term angel,’ said KPK Chairman Setyo Budiyanto at the KPK’s Merah Putih Building in Jakarta on Thursday (4/6). Setyo explained that the ‘angel’ code signified a distribution specifically intended for high-ranking officials within the directorate and the ministry. ‘There are other codes, with some parties receiving shares using the terms of a band concert payment. For example, the vocalist gets a certain amount, the guitarist gets a certain amount, the backing vocalist gets a certain amount, and even the choreographer,’ he said. According to him, each music group code indicated a different sum of money. Previously, the KPK initially confirmed on 3 June 2026 that it had conducted a sting operation at the West Jakarta Special Class I Non-TPI Immigration Office. This was the eleventh such operation during 2026. The operation was connected to the alleged arrangement of residence permits for foreign nationals, namely the Permanent Residence Permit Card and the Limited Stay Permit Card. During the operation conducted from 2 to 3 June 2026, the KPK arrested 17 people, consisting of eight state officials or civil servants and nine private individuals who acted as intermediaries in the processing of immigration documents. Among the 17 were the Head of the West Jakarta Special Class I Non-TPI Immigration Office, Ronald Arman Abdullah; the Head of the West Java Regional Office of the Directorate General of Immigration, Jaya Saputra, who had served as Director of Residence Permits and Immigration Status from November 2024 to October 2025; and the Acting Director General of Immigration for the period October 2024 to April 2025, Saffar Muhammad Godam. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections Silmy Karim surrendered himself to the KPK on 3 June 2026. On 4 June 2026, Silmy Karim, Saffar Muhammad Godam, Jaya Saputra, Ronald Arman Abdullah, and four others were officially named suspects and detained by the KPK after appearing in the anti-corruption agency’s orange vests. The four others were Tessar Bayu Setyaji and Bagus Bramantyo, heads of sub-directorates at the Directorate of Residence Permits and Immigration Status; Juniadi Sri Priambudi, the Head of the ITAS Status Transfer Team; and Gusti Benardiansyah, a staff member of the Sub-directorate of Residence Permits and Immigration Status. The KPK discovered a fund flow of IDR 366.7 billion in the accounts of 35 civil servants from the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, with only 3 per cent being from salaries.