Police widen online gambling probe to senior communications ministry official – Politics – The Jakarta Post

“[We] have questioned a director general [from within the ministry],” Jakarta Police general crimes investigation director Sr. Comr. Wira Satya Triputra was quoted by Kompas.com as saying last Friday.

“[The director general’s status at the moment] remains a witness,” he went on to say, stopping short of revealing the official’s identity.

The questioning of the senior ministry official came after the Jakarta Police arrested 24 people, including 10 employees of the Communications and Digital Ministry, late last month.

Among the arrested ministry officials was Adhi Kismanto, who served as an expert staffer to former communications minister Budi Arie Setiadi despite having previously failed the ministry’s selection test. Budi Arie was a close ally of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

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According to the police, the ministry officials had been extorting money out of thousands of online gambling websites in exchange for allowing them to operate in the country. The officials were aided by around a dozen people, who acted as middlemen in the operation.