Yusril Leads Consolidation Following Extortion Case Involving Silmy Karim and Others
The Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correctional Affairs, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, has led a consolidation meeting to follow up on the exposure of an alleged extortion case involving foreign national (WNA) stay permits between 2022 and 2026, as uncovered by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Former Deputy Minister of Immigration and Correctional Affairs 2025-2026, Silmy Karim, along with several officials and employees within the Directorate General of Immigration, has been implicated in the legal case.
“The purpose of this consolidation meeting is to remind all bureaucratic ranks within the three ministries under the coordination of the Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correctional Affairs about several events occurring since last week that have drawn significant public attention,” stated Yusril during the session themed “Moral and Professional Commitment in Providing Fair, Transparent, and Accountable Services” at Graha Pengayoman, Ministry of Law, Jakarta, on Monday (8/6).
Yusril explained that the consolidation aims to reaffirm bureaucratic duties, particularly regarding public services and the creation of robust systems. “We are all deeply concerned by these incidents,” he said.
Yusril added that his office will continue to build and strengthen public service systems while reinforcing Human Resources (HR) to ensure honesty in the workplace. “The events of the past few days should serve as a lesson for us all to ensure they do not recur in the future,” he remarked.
He further noted that the ministry will continue to monitor, increase supervision, and improve systems to prevent further alleged corruption cases within immigration and other units, including correctional services, legal administration, and human rights services.
The KPK uncovered the alleged extortion regarding foreign national stay permits and/or the receipt of gratifications within the Directorate General of Immigration through a sting operation (OTT) conducted in Jakarta, West Java, and Bali on 2-3 June 2026. Of the 18 individuals apprehended, eight have been named suspects based on sufficient preliminary evidence. These include Silmy Karim; Acting Director General of Immigration 2024-2025, Saffar Muhammad Godam; Director of Stay Permits, Jaya Saputra; Sub-directorate Heads in the Directorate of Stay Permits, Bagus Bramantyo and Tessar Bayu Setyaji; former Heads of Immigration Offices for Central Jakarta (2024-2025) and West Jakarta (2025-2026), Ronald Arman Abdullah; Head of the Limited Stay Permit (ITAS) Status Change Team, Juniadi Sri Priambudi; and Stay Permit Sub-directorate Staff, Gusti Bernardiansyah.
The suspects are charged with violating Article 12 letter e and/or Article 12B of the Law on the Eradication of Corruption Crimes in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of Law Number 1 of 2023 regarding the Criminal Code (KUHP). The KPK has conducted searches at Silmy Karim’s residence in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Friday (5/6), seizing various pieces of evidence suspected to be related to the case. Meanwhile, Silmy’s legal counsel has responded to the KPK’s enforcement process, stating they are considering a pretrial motion to challenge the legality of the KPK’s actions.