Indonesian Immigration Office Searched in Bribery Case; 8 Officials Arrested

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of Indonesia has conducted a search at the South Immigration Office Class I Special Non-TPI South Jakarta today. The search is aimed at finding evidence related to a case of alleged extortion for foreign national (WNA) residency permits and/or receiving gratuities between 2022 and 2026. One of the suspects is former Deputy Minister of Immigration, Silmy Karim. "The search just finished around 6 PM after Maghrib prayers, the team conducted the search at the South Jakarta Immigration Office," said Achmad Taufik Husein, Acting Director of Investigation at KPK, at the Red and White Building, the headquarters of the anti-graft agency, in South Jakarta, on Tuesday evening. Taufik could not yet provide information on the evidence found and seized, as the search had just concluded. "The results will likely be updated later by the spokesperson as it is in the final processing stage," Taufik said. In the ongoing process, the KPK has also searched the offices of service bureaus in Bali and seized documents and electronic evidence (BBE) allegedly related to the case. Furthermore, from June 17-19, 2026, investigators also searched the Immigration Office Class I TPI Denpasar, PT Visa Empat Bali, and CV Visa Agung Bali Teratai Promanende. During these searches, investigators seized a number of BBE and documents. A total of eight people have been named suspects by the KPK in the case of alleged extortion related to foreign national residency permits and/or receiving gratuities within the Directorate General of Immigration for the period 2022-2026. The suspects are Silmy Karim; Acting Director General of Immigration for the period 2024-2025, Saffar Muhammad Godam; Director of Stay Permits, Jaya Saputra; Head of Subdivision at the Directorate of Stay Permits, Bagus Bramantyo and Tessar Bayu Setyaji. Also included are the Head of the Central Jakarta Immigration Office for 2024-2025 and the Head of the West Jakarta Immigration Office for 2025-2026, Ronald Arman Abdullah; Head of the Limited Stay Permit Transfer Team (ITAS), Juniadi Sri Priambudi; and Staff of the Stay Permit Subdivision, Gusti Bernardiansyah. They have been detained at the KPK Detention Center. The suspects are charged with violating Article 12 letter e and/or Article 12B of the Law on Eradication of Corruption Crimes (UU Tipikor) in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code (KUHP). This case was uncovered by the KPK through a Sting Operation (OTT) on June 2-3, 2026. At that time, the KPK arrested 18 people, one of whom surrendered himself, namely Silmy Karim. The KPK also found and secured a number of pieces of evidence allegedly related to or resulting from criminal acts of corruption totaling Rp17.5 billion in various types of evidence. These include 7 cars, 15 motorcycles, 11 bicycles, balances in bank accounts and crypto asset accounts, as well as a number of foreign currencies. Source: CNN Indonesia