By Ananda Teresia
JAKARTA, June 4 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s anti-graft agency has arrested the country’s deputy minister for immigration affairs, a spokesman said on Thursday, making him the second high-profile government official in two days to face corruption charges.
The arrest came a day after Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office (AGO) detained Dadan Hindayana, the former head of an agency which oversees President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meals programme. Dadan was named as a suspect in a corruption case linked to the programme’s governance and procurement.
The two alleged corruption cases are unconnected.
Silmy Karim, Deputy Minister for Immigration and Correctional Affairs, was arrested on charges of corrupt practices in the administration of immigration documents, Budi Prasetyo, spokesperson with anti-graft agency KPK, told Reuters in a text message.
He did not elaborate further.
Silmy had been questioned at the KPK’s office since Wednesday night and emerged around 10 hours later on Thursday morning in handcuffs and wearing an orange jacket, indicating that he has been named as a suspect. He was then transported to a detention house.
The alleged corruption took place in 2023 to 2024, Budi said. Silmy served as director general for immigration affairs under Prabowo’s predecessor Joko Widodo during the period.
The agency has also identified seven other suspects related to this case, he added.
Further details are expected to be released later on Thursday afternoon, the agency said.
Prabowo took office in 2024 pledging to eradicate corruption and crack down on the illegal exploitation of Indonesia’s vast natural resources.
In April, the country’s chief ombudsman was arrested just six days after his appointment for allegedly taking a bribe from a local nickel company.
“Honestly, we have been deeply concerned over the past two days by the repeated events which we clearly did not expect,” State Secretariat Minister Prasetyo Hadi said on Thursday.
He said the government respects the legal proceedings being conducted by the anti-graft agency and the AGO.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; editing by Gibran Peshimam and David Stanway)
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