Indonesia police name anti-corruption agency chief as suspect in extortion case

Indonesia’s police have named the chief of the anti-corruption agency as a suspect in an extortion case involving an ex-minister who was detained last month on graft charges.

Firli, a former police inspector general, is suspected of extorting money from Syahrul Yasin Limpo, the former agriculture minister who was detained in a corruption case last month, police said in a post on their website.

Ade Safri Simanjuntak, a Jakarta police official, said late on Wednesday there was “sufficient evidence to name … the KPK chief as a suspect in a corruption case in the form of extortion”, adding that a state official extorted money at the agriculture ministry from 2020-2023.

Firli did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Monday, he told reporters he had never been involved in extortion or bribery.

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A corruption conviction for state officials carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

According to the law, the president must temporarily suspend any KPK chief named as a criminal suspect, and Widodo said on Thursday he would “respect the process of law” when asked about Firli being named a suspect.

Firli was named the KPK chief in 2019, around the same time critics said changes to the law governing the agency had weakened it, triggering a series of “save the KPK” protests.

Novel Baswedan, a former KPK investigator, said Firli is the first KPK chief to be named as a suspect in a graft case. The commission has prosecuted hundreds of politicians, officials, and businessmen since its formation in 2002, becoming one of the country’s most respected agencies.