A group of 30 immigration officials have been removed from their posts at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, following allegations of extortion targeting Chinese visitors, according to an Indonesian minister.
Immigration and Corrections Minister Agus Andrianto confirmed the action on Sunday (Jan 2) and said his ministry had received a formal complaint from the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia, detailing at least 44 cases of alleged illegal surcharges at the airport, according to local media.
“Without the information from the Chinese Embassy, we wouldn’t have been aware of this issue. Thanks to their report, we were able to take swift action to improve immigration services,” he stated, as quoted by The Jakarta Globe.
The minister also urged immigration officers nationwide to uphold professionalism and integrity in their duties.
Tempo reported that one of the officials was Arfa Yudha Indriawan, the Head of Intelligence and Immigration Enforcement Division at the Class I Special Immigration Office TPI Soekarno-Hatta.
When asked if Arfa was among the officials, Agus confirmed, according to local media.
According to local media, the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia sent a letter, dated Jan 21, to the Directorate General of Protocol and Consular Affairs of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Directorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections Affairs, and the Directorate General of Asia Pacific and Africa Affairs.
The letter stated that several Chinese citizens had been extorted by immigration officers at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, which was referred to as Jakarta International Airport in the letter. Chinese visitors were allegedly asked to pay immigration officers before being allowed entry.
The letter detailed at least 44 alleged extortion cases that occurred between February 2024 and January 2025, according to Tempo, which cited a document it had obtained. It also stated that a total of 32,750,000 rupiah (US$2,000) had been refunded to more than 60 Chinese citizens as a result of these cases.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg because more Chinese nationals were extorted without submitting complaints due to tight schedules or fear of retaliation upon entering in the future,” the letter stated, as quoted by Tempo.
Earlier, Agus said the officers had been temporarily dismissed, which could be seen as an opportunity to implement reforms for the relatively new ministry.
“This is an opportunity to implement significant reforms because immigration serves as Indonesia’s frontline in engaging with international visitors,” he said.
The new Immigration and Corrections Ministry was established after President Prabowo Subianto’s inauguration on Oct 20. Previously, the immigration and correctional divisions were under the jurisdiction of the Justice Ministry.
