Purbaya Vows No Interference After KPK Raids Tax Office

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa rules out any interference after the Corruption Eradication Commission raided offices at the Directorate General of Taxes in Jakarta on Wednesday, Jan 14, 2026, framing the case as a test of due process amid allegations of bribery tied to a corporate tax assessment. The ministry will provide legal assistance to employees implicated in the probe while leaving the investigation entirely to the KPK.

“There may well have been a violation. We should just see how the legal process unfolds,” Purbaya said when speaking to reporters in South Jakarta. He emphasized that the investigation was beyond ministerial authority and rested entirely with the KPK.

Purbaya said the Ministry of Finance would provide legal assistance to employees implicated in the case because they remained civil servants until a court ruling was issued. He stressed, however, that such assistance did not amount to interference with investigators.

“They are still finance ministry employees until a court decides otherwise. So we accompany them legally, but there is no intervention, in the sense that I come and tell investigators to stop this or stop that,” he said.

The KPK raid followed the designation of Dwi Budi, head of the North Jakarta Medium Tax Office, as a suspect in an alleged bribery scheme involving the reduction of a corporate tax bill. Investigators said the case centered on alleged payments linked to the tax assessment of Wanatiara Persada.

During the search of the tax office, investigators seized cash believed to be connected to the alleged bribery. KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo said the exact amount had not yet been disclosed because it was still being counted.

“Investigators secured a sum of money suspected to have originated from the suspects in the alleged corruption case related to bribery in a tax audit at the North Jakarta Medium Tax Office,” Budi said in a statement.

The KPK said two offices within the Directorate General of Taxes were searched, including the Directorate of Tax Regulations and the Directorate of Extensification and Valuation. Investigators also seized documents and electronic evidence believed to be relevant to the case’s structure.

In addition to Dwi Budi, the KPK named four other suspects, including a section head and an appraiser at the tax office, a tax consultant, and a staff member of Wanatiara Persada. Investigators alleged the suspects conspired to reduce the company’s tax underpayment assessment from Rp 75 billion to Rp 15.7 billion, cutting the liability by about Rp 59.3 billion, or roughly 80 percent of the original amount.