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View all search resultsKPK intensifies raids amid calls for independence
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Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators hold up cash and gold bars seized during the arrest of Finance Ministry's customs and excise directorate general officials at a press briefing at the antigraft body headquarters in Jakarta on Feb. 5, 2026. The KPK name six suspects in a bribery case pertaining to import duties involving several officials from the customs and excise office. (Antara/Muhammad Iqbal)
T
he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has launched six raids in January and February, half the total for 2025, signaling renewed vigor in fighting graft, though experts and activists caution the agency must remain free from political pressure to succeed.
Last week, KPK arrested two judges from Depok District Court, along with three others, in an alleged bribery case. The agency also conducted three operations targeting offices of the Finance Ministry’s Directorate General of Customs and Excise, as well as tax offices in several provinces, with the latest operation on Feb. 4.
Two regional leaders were also arrested in separate operations on Jan. 19, namely Pati Regent Sudewo in Central Java and Madiun Mayor Maidi in East Java, both for alleged extortion.
The surge signals renewed enforcement efforts, with former KPK investigator and IM57+ Institute activist Mochamad Praswad Nugraha calling it a positive development. He stressed that KPK can carry out operations effectively only if it remains free from political interventions.
“Experience shows that when KPK works without pressure from politics or power holders, its performance can be optimal,” he said on Wednesday, adding that a decline in raids could signal institutional weakening.
Read also: Indonesia slips in corruption index in Prabowo’s first year
He recalled the leadership of former KPK chair Firli Bahuri from 2019 to 2023, who was dismissed following a graft scandal, during which KPK conducted fewer operations compared to previous years. The body recorded its lowest number of raids in 2021 with only six raids.
