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KPK arrests 15 employees in prison bribery scandal
The KPK has named 15 out of 78 detention center employees as suspects of orchestrating the extortion scheme, which netted the group around Rp 6.3 billion in illicit fees from inmates between 2019 and 2023.
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Detention center workers of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named as suspects in a bribery case (in orange vests) are escorted on March 15, 2024 by a fellow KPK employee (right) to a press briefing at the antigraft body’s Jakarta headquarters. (Antara/ Reno Esnir )
T
he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named 15 employees at its detention centers as suspects for allegedly extorting detainees between 2019 and 2023, finalizing its fall from grace after a spate of scandals over the past year, including the removal of its head Firli Bahuri in November over extortion charges.
At a press briefing on Friday, KPK deputy chair Nurul Ghufron said the commission had launched a parallel investigation into dozens of detention center employees over alleged corruption.
The probe was opened after the KPK Supervisory Council found 78 detention center workers guilty of disciplinary code violations for collecting illicit fees from detainees in exchange for illegal services, such as smuggling cash or communication devices into their cells.
The council ordered the 78 prison employees to deliver a public apology en masse in front of the commission’s leadership last month and recommended the KPK secretariat-general to launch a follow-up investigation into the incident.
The antigraft body’s law enforcement unit has also opened a separate criminal investigation, aiming to prosecute the employees on corruption charges.
“The law enforcement deputy has named 15 individuals as suspects for allegedly pressuring [detainees] to provide [kickbacks],” Nurul said.
Read also: Anger as corrupt KPK officials kept on after taking illegal levies
