Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has sacked his chief of staff, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, a day after his arrest alongside two senior police officers on suspicion of illegally wiretapping the president, ministers and others, in a scandal that has shaken the top of Indonesia’s security establishment.
The Indonesia chief of staff wiretapping case has divided the government’s own messaging: the presidential office said the alleged wiretapping could amount to conduct tending towards treason, while the government has also said the motive has not yet been determined and that no evidence linking the suspects to treason had been found so far. The case remains at an early stage of investigation, and the allegations have not been proven in court.
FAKTA: Indonesia chief of staff wiretapping case
- Who was sacked: Listyo Sigit Prabowo, President Prabowo Subianto’s chief of staff and former national police chief. He is not related to the president.
- What he is accused of: Illegally tapping the phones of the president, state officials, politicians, journalists, business people and leaders of mass organisations and non-governmental groups, from 2025 into this year.
- Who else was detained: Two other senior police officers, initially identified by police only by their initials. Local media named them as Ahrie Sonta Nasution and Eko Hadi Santoso.
- What the government says: The presidential office said the conduct could be regarded as tending towards treason; the senior legal affairs minister said the motive was still undetermined and no evidence of treason had been found so far.
- Possible penalties: Police cited offences including illegal interception, unauthorised access to electronic systems and deleting electronic data, carrying maximum prison terms of up to 10, six and eight years respectively.
What happened
Police announced late on Tuesday that three senior police officers had been detained as suspects in an investigation into alleged illegal wiretapping. On Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi told reporters that Listyo had been sacked as chief of staff.
“This was, of course, carried out by certain rogue individuals, and we are also of the view that what was done may already fall into a category that can be considered an act tending toward treason,” Hadi said, according to Reuters.
Listyo had served as national police chief for five years before becoming the president’s chief of staff last month, Reuters reported.
What police allege in the Indonesia chief of staff wiretapping case
Asep Safrudin, head of the national police crimes unit, told a press conference late on Tuesday that the suspects allegedly conducted non-procedural or illegal wiretapping of the president’s phone number and those of state officials, political figures, mass organisation leaders, media, non-governmental organisations and business people.
Police said the wiretapping was ordered without a formal request from investigators or any police reports, and was not related to any law enforcement process. Several phone numbers were entered into the Lawful Interception Management System, police said, adding that the suspects had last month ordered the deletion of wiretapping records in an attempt to leave no trace.
The interception began in 2025, about two months after Prabowo took office, and continued into this year, senior legal affairs minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said. Police said they had questioned 13 people and were investigating whether others were involved. Reuters reported that it could not immediately contact the suspects or their lawyers.
What is still unknown
The government has yet to determine a motive for the alleged wiretapping, Yusril said. He told a separate briefing that the investigation remained at an early stage and that the government had yet to find evidence linking the suspects to treason — a position that sits alongside the presidential office’s view that the conduct could tend towards treason.
No charges, court findings or detailed evidence have been made public beyond the police account of the investigation, and the full scope of the alleged surveillance has not been disclosed.
Wider context
Reuters described the probe as a fresh blow to Prabowo, who it said faces a slumping approval rating amid discontent over his policies, while battling to restore investor confidence amid record stock market sell-offs, a declining currency and warnings of an equities market downgrade by index provider MSCI.
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