The corruption and extortion case involving foreigner stay permits — which has drawn in Deputy Immigration Minister Silmy Karim — is still unfolding. Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has just questioned 6 witnesses from service bureaus in Bali.
Investigators found that certain immigration officers deliberately stalled vital documents for foreigners, essentially “hanging” the process to pressure agents into paying extra fees.
KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo explained that these payments were outside the official system and funneled to the central immigration office.
“The amounts varied, from Rp100,000 up to Rp2.5 million for each submission — whether KITAS, KITAP, or other immigration documents,” Budi said at the KPK building in Jakarta on Thursday night, June 25.
Budi explained further that the illegal practice was carried out openly at service counters. In Bali, the handovers took place at immigration offices in Ngurah Rai and Denpasar.
This situation left immigration support agents and independent service bureaus with no choice but to comply with the extra charges to keep their businesses running smoothly.
“If a bureau didn’t pay the requested fees, their applications wouldn’t be clicked through. That’s why in this case we also refer to it as ‘click money’ — payments to move each submission forward. In other words, certain immigration officers deliberately made things difficult for service bureaus handling these applications,” Budi added.
As a reminder, the KPK uncovered this corruption and extortion case through a sting operation on June 2–3, 2026.
Alongside Deputy Minister Silmy Karim, seven other individuals are currently detained at the KPK facility, including former Acting Director General of Immigration (2024–2025) Saffar Muhammad Godam and Director of Stay Permits Jaya Saputra.
They face criminal charges for extortion by law enforcement officials or civil servants who abused their authority to force payments.
Sources : HukumOnline, Kompas
Feat Image : via AntaraNews
