Indonesia detains immigration deputy minister amid widening corruption probe
The arrest of the deputy minister for immigration affairs marks the latest escalation in Jakarta’s anti-corruption drive, following the detention of a key official linked to President Prabowo Subianto’s social welfare initiatives.
Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has arrested Silmy Karim, the deputy minister for immigration affairs, following a ten-hour interrogation regarding alleged irregularities in the administration of immigration documents. Budi Prasetyo, the commission’s spokesperson, confirmed to Reuters on Thursday that Karim was taken into custody after questioning concluded at the KPK office on Wednesday night.
The allegations centre on conduct during Karim’s tenure as director general for immigration affairs between 2023 and 2024, a period when he served under then-President Joko Widodo. Upon his release from the interrogation room, Karim was seen in handcuffs and an orange jacket before being transferred to detention. The KPK has identified seven additional suspects in connection with the case, with further details expected to be released in the coming days.
This development occurs just one day after the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) detained Dadan Hindayana, the former head of an agency overseeing President Prabowo Subianto’s free-meals programme. Hindayana was arrested on similar corruption charges, with two other suspects also taken into custody. Syarief Sulaeman Nahdi, the AGO’s director of investigation, stated that foundations operating within schools to implement the malnutrition-fighting initiative were allegedly used to facilitate criminal activities.
State Secretariat Minister Prasetyo Hadi acknowledged the intensity of the recent legal actions, describing the repeated arrests over the past two days as unexpected events that have caused deep concern within the government. Despite the political sensitivity of targeting officials linked to the current administration’s flagship social policy, Hadi affirmed that the government respects the independent legal proceedings conducted by both the KPK and the AGO.
The immigration official’s detention adds to a broader pattern of enforcement within Indonesia’s state apparatus. In April, the country’s chief ombudsman was arrested just six days after his appointment on charges of accepting a bribe from a local nickel company, signalling a sustained institutional focus on curbing graft across multiple sectors of governance.
