Indonesian police detained three senior officers, including presidential chief of staff and former national police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, on Tuesday, November 3, over alleged unauthorized wiretapping of President Prabowo Subianto and other prominent Indonesians in a case investigators say covers 2025 and 2026.
The other suspects are Inspector General Ahrie Sonta Nasution, who heads the National Police’s legal division, and Inspector General Eko Hadi Santoso, a senior police instructor. All three are being held at police headquarters in Jakarta. Investigators allege that phone numbers were added to a police system for monitoring communications without proper checks or following required procedures.
They say the targets included government officials, politicians, media figures, civil society members and businesspeople. Police are also investigating alleged access to electronic systems without authorization. The investigation also covers the alleged deletion of interception data.
Some files were reportedly removed in October. Authorities said they had questioned 10 witnesses and three experts. They also said they had seized 11 mobile phones, an iPad and four flash drives.
The investigation is ongoing. Police have not disclosed a motive. They have not publicly identified anyone who received the communications that were allegedly intercepted.
The allegations have not been proven in court. At the time of reporting, neither Prabowo nor the three suspects had publicly responded.