Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission has clarified the status of visa agencies and agents in Bali in the case involving illegal payments for processing documents for foreigners.
According to commission spokesperson Budi Prasetyo, they are not being treated as participants in the scheme, but as possible victims of extortion.
On 25 June, investigators questioned six witnesses in Denpasar. They included the director and employees of CV Visa Agung Bali, private business owners, and an employee of PT Bali Soft who was also working as an agent.
Investigators are examining payments that visa agencies may have passed on to staff at the Ngurah Rai and Denpasar immigration offices. According to the commission, the money was demanded on top of official fees for temporary and permanent residence permits, as well as other documents.
The amounts mentioned in the case range from 100,000 to 2.5 million rupiah per application. If an agency did not pay, documents could be delayed or not moved on to the next stage of processing.
The case involves former Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections Silmy Karim and seven officials from the Directorate General of Immigration. Investigators believe the scheme may have operated from 2022 to 2026, and that the total amount of illegal payments may have exceeded 145 billion rupiah.
Over two days in Bali, 12 witnesses from companies linked to visa services were questioned. No new rules for foreigners or visa agencies have been announced so far in connection with the case.
Source: detik.com
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