Indonesian authorities have arrested the Deputy Minister of Immigration on charges of accepting bribes in exchange for residence permits, just one day after detaining the head of a free food program responsible for widespread food poisoning among children.
On Thursday, 4 Jun 2026 GMT+7, a spokesperson for Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced the arrest of Silmy Karim, Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections, making him the second high-ranking Indonesian official apprehended on corruption charges.
Setyo Budiranto, head of the KPK, stated that Silmy was named a suspect in a criminal case along with seven others for involvement in a "systematic" bribery scheme exchanging money for residence permits granted to foreign applicants.
Silmy was brought in for questioning at the KPK office on Wednesday night and appeared about 10 hours later on Thursday morning wearing handcuffs and an orange jacket, signifying his formal status as a suspect. He was then transferred to detention.
The KPK spokesperson revealed that the alleged corruption occurred during 2024-2025, when Silmy served as Director General of Immigration under former President Joko Widodo's administration.
This arrest came just one day after the Indonesian Attorney General's Office detained Dadan Hindayana, former head of the agency overseeing the free food distribution program, a flagship initiative of President Prabowo Subianto.
Dadan is named as a suspect in a corruption case related to the management and procurement of the program, which was linked to multiple incidents of children falling ill from food poisoning after consuming the free state-provided meals. However, these two corruption cases are unrelated.
Separately, on Thursday, an Indonesian court sentenced Immanuel Ebenezer, former Deputy Minister of Manpower arrested last year, to four and a half years in prison for corruption involving the issuance of safety permits, making him the first member of Prabowo's cabinet to receive a criminal conviction.
In April, a senior national inspector general was arrested just six days into his appointment on allegations of accepting bribes from a local nickel company.
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Source:cna