Maretha Uli, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named Deputy Immigration and Corrections Minister Silmy Karim a suspect in an alleged extortion case relating to foreigner stay permits, marking the second arrest of a top government official for corruption this week.
Silmy was detained after turning himself in to the antigraft body on Wednesday evening. Graft busters interrogated him immediately afterward until Thursday morning.
He joined seven other ministry officials who were detained following raids in Jakarta, West Java and Bali on Tuesday and Wednesday. Among them were heads of West Jakarta and West Java immigration offices Ronald Arman Abdullah and Jaya Saputra, respectively, as well as former acting immigration director general Saffar Muhammad Godam.
The KPK suspects the extortion scheme had been ongoing since 2022, when the immigration ministry was still a directorate general under the then-law and human rights ministry.
The suspects allegedly systematically collected illicit fees in exchange for expediting the issuance of limited stay permits (KITAS) for foreign nationals seeking to live and work in the country. Investigators suspected the scheme involved instructions from senior ministry officials, while the levies were collected at regional offices.
"If the applicants did not provide anything beyond the [official] fees, they would face delays in obtaining authorization and approval for their applications," KPK chair Setyo Budiyanto said in a press briefing on Thursday.
From 2022, the suspects racked up a total of Rp 145.5 billion (US$8.1 million), which was allegedly distributed every Friday through concealed transactions using special codes. Silmy, who served as immigration director general from 2023 to 2024, allegedly received Rp 100 million per week.
After a series of raids and searches, graft busters seized assets worth around Rp 17.5 billion in the form of cars, motorcycles, bank deposits, cryptocurrency holdings and cash.
The suspects were charged under the extortion and unlawful gift acceptance articles of the 2001 Corruption Law.
Coordinating Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Service Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra called the arrest a "slap" for the government.
"This is a major challenge for us to strengthen oversight and enforce the law without fear or favor, in line with the President's directives," he said in a statement on Thursday.
He added that the government would not interfere with the legal process and was ready to coordinate with the KPK.
State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi told reporters President Prabowo Subianto had dismissed Silmy from his position, while noting that no decision had yet been made on his replacement.
"We are also concerned because within just two days, two corruption cases have emerged," Prasetyo said on Thursday.
Silmy's arrest took place a day after the Attorney General's Office (AGO) detained former National Nutrition Agency (BGN) head Dadan Hindayana, as well as his former deputies Lodewyk Pusung and Sony Sonjaya for alleged corruption pertaining to Prabowo's flagship free nutritious meal program.
Dadan and his deputies were suspected of rigging the approval process for foundations to become partners in the free nutritious meal program and interfering with the procurement process by purchasing items not necessary for the rollout.
One day before their arrest, Prabowo fired all three BGN officials from their posts. Announced at a press briefing on Tuesday evening, State Secretary Prasetyo said the decision was made after finding issues related to discipline in implementing governance in the free meal program, including in maintaining food quality standards.
Responding to Dadan's arrest, Prabowo told free meals program stakeholders at an event in Bogor, West Java, that he was saddened by having to replace people he had "entrusted with a major state duty". He also vowed to strengthen law enforcement institutions in the country's fight against corruption.
Prabowo has repeatedly made vows to combat corruption since taking office in October 2024. However, Indonesia saw a drop in its Corruption Perception Index (CPI) rating issued by Transparency International in 2025, the first full year of Prabowo's presidency.
Former deputy manpower minister Immanuel Ebenezer (third right) raises his fist after the verdict hearing against him at the Jakarta Corruption Court in Jakarta on June 4, 2026. The judges sentenced Immanuel to four and a half years in prison for accepting Rp 3.4 billion (US$189,291) in illicit fees pertaining to workplace safety certifications at the ministry. (Antara/Bayu Pratama S.)
Also on Thursday, the Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced former deputy manpower minister Immanuel Ebenezer Gerungan to four and a half years in prison for accepting around Rp 3.4 billion of illicit fees pertaining to workplace safety certifications at the ministry.
The sentence for Immanuel, the first of Prabowo's cabinet members to be arrested for corruption, was lighter than the five years sought by the KPK prosecutors.