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Visa bribery case puts spotlight on immigration offices
“This case served as a wake-up call for the KPK to deeply study immigration issues, including its implications on a variety of things such as tourism,” KPK deputy chairman Saut Situmorang said.
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The head of the Mataram Immigration Office, Kurniadie, and the office's intelligence department head, Yusriansyah Fazrin, allegedly accepted Rp 1.2 billion (US$84,001) from Liliana Hidayat, the director of resort company Wisata Bahagia, when the office investigated Wisata Bahagia for allegedly allowing two foreigners working at the company into the country on tourist visas. (Shutterstock/File)
T
he recent arrest of immigration officials in a case of alleged bribery may be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to corruption within the immigration system, which is feared to be rampant amid a high influx of foreign tourists to the archipelago.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named on May 28 two high-ranking Mataram Immigration Office officials and a resort director in West Nusa Tenggara suspects in a bribery case surrounding alleged tourist visa misuse.
The case is the second of its kind involving a KPK investigation into immigration officers over foreigners’ visas.
The head of the Mataram Immigration Office, Kurniadie, and the office's intelligence department head, Yusriansyah Fazrin, allegedly accepted Rp 1.2 billion (US$84,001) from Liliana Hidayat, the director of resort company Wisata Bahagia, when the office investigated Wisata Bahagia for allegedly allowing two foreigners working at the company into the country on tourist visas.
The two foreigners, identified as 60-year-old Australian national Geoffery William Bower and 48-year-old Singaporean Manikam Katherasan, were reportedly affiliated with the company’s Wyndham Sundancer Lombok complex in Sekotong, West Lombok.
Liliana later promised to give the money to local immigration officials in exchange for the termination of the investigation.
Bribery case may be one of many
