Rp5 Billion in 5 Safes Allegedly Related to Tax Affairs at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise

ILLUSTRATION BETWEEN

JAKARTA - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) suspects that the Rp5 billion found in five suitcases during a search in Ciputat, South Tangerang, is also related to tax affairs.

This was conveyed by KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo when announcing Budiman Bayu Prasojo as a new suspect in the case of bribery and gratification of the import of goods at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC). This determination is said to be based on the findings of the money.

"The money found and secured in the search is suspected to have come from customs and tax processes. Well, this has been mixed in there," Budi told reporters at the KPK's Red and White building, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta, Thursday, February 26.

Even so, Budi emphasized that the investigation was still ongoing. Budiman is still undergoing an examination after being arrested at the DJBC headquarters this afternoon at around 16.00 WIB.

"Of course, it will still be investigated by investigators, yes, regarding the receipt," he said.

Budiman has already been questioned by investigators on Monday, February 23. He was investigated for several things, including regarding the authority held by the Directorate of Enforcement and Investigation (DitP2) of the DJBC.

Quoted from several sources, the DJBC's DitP2 has a series of tasks such as supervision, intelligence, and preventive and punitive operations for violations of customs and tax rules. This unit is also responsible for repelling the entry of illegal goods, including those with false taxes, smuggling, and others.

As previously reported, the KPK announced six suspects related to alleged bribes and gratuities related to the import of goods at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise after conducting a hand-in-hand operation (OTT) on February 4. One of them is the Director of Enforcement and Investigation of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (P2 DJBC) for the period 2024-2026, Rizal.

In addition to Rizal, the KPK also named five other suspects. They are Sisprian Subiaksono (SIS) as Head of the Subdirectorate of Intelligence, Enforcement and Investigation of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Kasubdit Intel P2 DJBC); Orlando Hamonangan (ORL) as Head of the Intelligence Section of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Kasi Intel DJBC); John Field (JF) as owner of PT Blueray (BR); Andri as Head of the Import Documents Team of PT BR; and Dedy Kurniawan as Operational Manager of PT BR.

The KPK suspects that this case began in October 2025 when Orlando Hamonangan and Sisprian Subiaksono together with John Field, Andri, and Dedy Kurniawan committed a conspiracy. They arranged the planning of the import route of goods that would enter Indonesia.

This evil agreement is based on the Minister of Finance Regulation. In this policy there are two categories of lanes in the service and supervision of imported goods to determine the level of inspection before being issued from the customs area, namely the green lane which is the lane for the issuance of imported goods without inspection and the red lane with physical inspection of goods.

From this evil agreement, Orlando then ordered his men to adjust the parameters of the red line and follow it up by drafting a rule set at 70 percent.

This rule set was then sent by the Directorate of Enforcement and Investigation to the Directorate of Customs and Excise Information (IKC) to be included in the parameters of the goods inspection machine.

As a result of the conditioning, the goods carried by PT BR were allegedly not subject to a physical examination. So that the goods suspected of being counterfeit, KW, and illegal can enter Indonesia without being checked by Customs officers.

After the conditioning was completed, there was a transfer of money from PT BR to the parties in DJBC in the period December 2025 to February 2026 in a number of locations. The receipt is carried out regularly every month as a quota for the individuals in DJBC.

As for the hand-in-hand operation (OTT), the KPK secured evidence worth Rp. 40.5 billion in several safe houses or safe houses with details:

1. Cash in the form of Rupiah amounting to IDR 1.89 billion; 2. Cash in the form of US Dollars amounting to USD 182,900; 3. Cash in the form of Singapore Dollars amounting to SGD 1.48 million; 4. Cash in the form of Japanese Yen amounting to JPY 550,000; 5. Precious metals weighing 2.5 Kg or equivalent to IDR 7.4 billion; 6. Precious metals weighing 2.8 Kg or equivalent to IDR 8.3 billion; and 7. 1 luxury watch worth IDR 138 million.

Then, Rp5 billion in various denominations of currency in five suitcases at the safe house located in Ciputat, South Tangerang was also found. Investigators found the evidence during a search on Friday, February 13.