Minister Of Immipas Removes Immigration Officers At Soetta Airport In The Aftermath Of Extorting Chinese Citizens

The Directorate General of Immigration at the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections has arrested two Chinese citizens who were involved in distributing video content who slipped Rp500 thousand in passports. (ANTARA/HO-Ditjen Immigration)

JAKARTA - Minister of Immigration and Corrections (Imipas) Agus Andrianto removed all officials at the Special Class I Office of Soekarno-Hatta Airport in the aftermath of the extortion case against Chinese citizens.

This case was previously disclosed in a letter from the Embassy of the People's Republic of China. The letter dated January 21, 2025, stated that a number of his citizens were victims of extortion by Soekarno-Hatta Airport Immigration officers.

"We have changed (from their position) and we will examine them internally. We will act according to the clarification of accountability," Agus told reporters, Sunday, February 2.

In investigating the extortion case carried out by the internal Ministry of Imipas, immigration officials are said to have returned the extortion funds they withdrew from foreigners.

However, Agus emphasized that this did not prevent immigration officials who had been removed from their positions from internal examinations to sanctions that would be charged.

"We will immediately follow up on the information we received. Even though there has been a return, we will still withdraw and undergo an internal examination. We will give sanctions according to the level of accountability," explained Agus.

It is known that this letter from the Chinese Embassy was sent 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, and the Directorate General of Asia Pacific and African Affairs.

The Chinese embassy said there were 44 cases of extortion at Indonesian airports that were processed and resolved during 2024.

According to the Chinese Embassy, the dozens of cases handled were still partially due to many Chinese citizens who did not file a complaint for the extortion. The reason is because the schedule is busy or afraid of countermeasures when entering the destination country.