Djaka Named in KPK Trial, Prabowo Urged to Dismiss Customs Chief
JAKARTA - The cigarette entrepreneur and owner of the Nusantara Global Cigarette Group (BARONG Group), HRM Khalilur R Abdullah Sahlawiy or commonly known as Gus Lilur, urged President Prabowo Subianto to evaluate the Director General of Customs and Excise, Djaka Budhi Utama, following the emergence of the official's name in the trial of the alleged bribery case handled by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
According to Gus Lilur, the spotlight on Djaka Budhi Utama cannot be separated from the facts revealed in the trial at the Corruption Court (Tipikor) Central Jakarta regarding the alleged bribery of goods imports.
"We want all the President's aides to really help the President. But I see this one President's aide, the Director General of Customs, does not help. In fact, he makes the President ashamed," Gus Lilur said in his statement, Sunday, June 14.
Gus Lilur menilai pejabat setingkat direktur jenderal seharusnya fokus menjaga penerimaan negara, memperbaiki tata kelola kepabeanan, dan memperkuat kepercayaan publik terhadap institusi pemerintah.
The statement refers to the continuation of the case of alleged bribery of the import of goods on June 12, 2026. During the trial, the KPK prosecutor read the Report of the Examination (BAP) of the defendant John Field, owner of Blueray Cargo.
In the statement read out at the trial, there was a code "BC1" in a number of money transfers that were allegedly made periodically. Based on this statement, the code "BC1" is said to refer to the Director General of Customs and Excise Djaka Budhi Utama.
The prosecutor also revealed the alleged provision of money of Rp3 billion per month which was said to have taken place seven times in the period from July 2025 to January 2026. The total value of the alleged flow of funds reached Rp21 billion.
In addition, in a previous trial on May 20, 2026, the KPK prosecutor also revealed the alleged receipt of money of 213,600 Singapore dollars, which is close to Rp3 billion.
Until now, the allegations are still part of the process of proving in court and there has been no court ruling stating that certain parties are legally involved.
In the midst of the spotlight, Djaka Budhi Utama previously appeared in a press conference on June 9, 2026 to announce the success of a joint operation by the Customs, PJR Polda Metro Jaya, and the TNI Military Police Center in uncovering the shipment of illegal cigarettes without tax tape on the Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR).
During the operation, officers seized 8,944,800 illegal cigarettes with an estimated value of goods reaching IDR 13.28 billion. Customs said the potential loss of the state that was successfully prevented reached IDR 8.66 billion.
However, Gus Lilur assessed that the enforcement action had not touched the larger root of the problem in customs governance.
"The action taken is only a celebration without essence. There is no enforcement of the law to the root. Only a team of truck catchers on the streets. The press conference and celebration seem to be a big arrest," he said.
Therefore, he asked President Prabowo to evaluate the leadership of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, including considering a change of leadership if necessary.
According to Gus Lilur, the government's policy to strengthen state revenue, eradicate transfer pricing practices, under invoicing, and improve trade governance will be more effective if carried out by officials who have integrity and public trust.
"Hopefully the President will immediately remove and replace the Director General of Customs with a replacement who has more patriotism and has the dignity to defend the glory of the Republic of Indonesia," said Gus Lilur.
Meanwhile, the legal process handled by the KPK is still ongoing. The alleged flow of funds that emerged in the current trial is still part of the examination and proof in court. All parties mentioned in the trial still have the right to provide clarification or defense in accordance with applicable laws.