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View all search resultsKPK pushes ahead with probe into Whoosh
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Passengers disembark from a Whoosh high-speed train at Padalarang Station in Bandung, West Java, on Oct. 17, 2025. (Antara/Rubby Jovan)
T
he Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) probe into alleged corruption in the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung high speed railway Whoosh is proceeding apace after President Prabowo Subianto reassured the public about having "no major problems" with the project's lingering debt.
The preliminary investigation, which began earlier this year, is still ongoing and aims to determine whether any criminal acts of corruption occurred in the project, KPK deputy chairman Johanis Tanak said, adding that investigators were still gathering evidence.
“There is no prohibition [from the President] against conducting an investigation,” Johanis told reporters on Wednesday.
“An investigation provides legal certainty. If no evidence is found, the case will be closed. But if indications of corruption emerge, we will inform the President,” he said. “[I am confident] the President will respect the process, as he has emphasized anticorruption in his campaign promises.”
Dubbed as a flagship initiative of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Southeast Asia’s first high speed railway, Whoosh had been under scrutiny even before it began operations in 2023, with critics citing cost overruns, mounting debt and policy U-turns during its construction.
Whoosh was built and is operated by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), a joint venture owned by two consortiums from Indonesia and China. The Indonesian consortium, PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia (PSBI), is made up of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), with the largest share belonging to railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI).
The corruption allegation first surfaced when former coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister Mahfud MD said on YouTube that the project’s per-kilometer cost reached US$52 million, far higher than the $17 million estimated cost for a similar project in China. The total cost for Whoosh was $7.2 billion.
