THE Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) should have no hesitation, let alone afraid, in questioning Djaka Budhi Utama in the import bribery case. The Director-General of Customs needs to clarify a number of testimonies and pieces of evidence linking his name to the receipt of bribes.

The Jakarta Corruption Court is trying three executives of shipping company Blueray Cargo, who are accused of bribing three Customs officials. In the indictment, prosecutors explicitly stated that Djaka and three of his subordinates met several cargo business people at Hotel Borobudur, Central Jakarta, in July 2025. The meeting allegedly discussed payments for officials at the Directorate-General of Customs.

Djaka’s three subordinates were named suspects earlier. One of them, Orlando Hamonangan Sianipar, served as chief of the intelligence section. While testifying in court, Orlando admitted helping prepare payments from cargo businessmen for Djaka. The illicit money allegedly came from several major shipping players.

Another equally strong piece of evidence also emerged in court. Blueray Cargo’s financial records showed monthly payments of S$213,000 for Djaka through his subordinates. The payments allegedly took place from July 2025 to January 2026. With all the testimonies and documents available, investigators should have no hesitation in summoning Djaka to the KPK.

The problem is that since the case surfaced on February 5, 2026, investigators have yet to question Djaka. They were even reluctant to search Djaka’s office in February 2026 at the Customs Directorate-General complex in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, days after the arrest of the three Customs officials. At the same time, the KPK searched other offices in the complex.

Djaka Budhi Utama is not a figure immune from the law. The retired Indonesian Military (TNI) lieutenant general was once sentenced to one year and four months in prison after being accused of involvement in the kidnapping of activists in 1999. At the time, he was a member of the Rose Team under the Special Forces Command led by Prabowo Subianto.

To strengthen the case, the KPK should apply money laundering charges in the Customs bribery case. That way, all parties who benefited from payments by cargo business people could also be ensnared. Indications of money laundering emerged after the KPK searched three apartment units in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, and a house in Ciputat, South Tangerang, Banten.

Investigators found various foreign currencies worth tens of billions of rupiah, more than 5 kilograms of gold bars, luxury watches, and cars. The suspects allegedly bought the items to conceal the origin of the money. Money laundering charges would also help investigators trace other bribery recipients who have yet to be identified.

The KPK suspects all the foreign currency and luxury goods came from corruption involving Customs officials. By using money laundering articles, the KPK could also trace other assets or valuables hidden by the suspects. In this import bribery case alone, Blueray Cargo allegedly paid a total of Rp91.3 billion from July 2025 to January 2026. Payments from other companies to the perpetrators were almost certainly just as large.

The exposure of import corruption within Customs office must be pursued to its roots. Firm action is crucial to break the chain of corruption within the Directorate-General of Customs, which has been entrenched for decades. After all, these illegal levies have long driven up the price of goods, ultimately becoming an additional burden on the public.