Jakarta. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday announced the detention of four suspects in an alleged bribery and extortion scheme involving foreign worker permit services at the Manpower Ministry.

The four suspects are all current or former senior officials at the ministry, accused of delaying work permit approvals for foreign nationals until payments were made through intermediaries.

KPK Chairman Setyo Budiyanto said the suspects would be held in custody for an initial 20 days, with the option to extend the detention period if necessary.

“This is part of KPK’s serious efforts to dismantle bribery practices in Indonesia’s licensing bureaucracy, particularly in the labor sector involving foreign workers,” Setyo said during a press conference at the KPK headquarters in Jakarta.

According to Setyo, the arrests follow sufficient evidence gathered since June 5, when the KPK officially named eight suspects in the case.

The suspects allegedly withheld or delayed foreign worker permit applications, forcing applicants to pay ministry officials via appointed agents. Applicants who refused to pay had their requests stalled or left incomplete without clear instructions, Setyo explained.

Once a payment amount was agreed upon, ministry officials would provide bank account details to receive the money.

The funds collected through the extortion scheme, which has allegedly been running since 2019, amounted to at least Rp 53 billion (approximately $3.2 million), according to the KPK’s investigation.

The four detained suspects include:

• Suhartono — Director General of Manpower Placement and Employment Expansion (2020–2023)
• Haryanto — Director of Foreign Worker Permit Control (PPTKA) (2019–2024), Director General of Manpower Placement and Employment Expansion (2024–2025), and Ministerial Expert Staff for International Relations (2025)
• Wisnu Pramono — Director of PPTKA (2017–2019)
• Devi Angraeni — Director of PPTKA (2024–2025)

The remaining four suspects, who have not yet been detained, are:

• Gatot Widiartono — Coordinator Analyst at PPTKA (2021–2025)
• Putri Citra Wahyoe — Foreign Worker Permit Hotline Officer (2019–2024), Permit Application Document Verifier (2024–2025)
• Jamal Shodiqin — Analyst at PPTKA (2019–2024), PPTKA Supervisor (2024–2025)
• Alfa Eshad — Supervisor at the Ministry of Manpower (2018–2025)

Setyo said all suspects actively solicited payments for personal gain and that further investigations into the case are ongoing.