JAKARTA: If you see an ostensibly independently wealthy, beautiful young woman showing off her luxury goods purchases on social media, what would your first thought be?
If you are Indonesian, the answer might be that she is a simpanan pejabat, roughly translated as “a government official’s mistress”.
The fact that many government officials lavish wealth on their mistresses is something of an open secret in Indonesian society. The assumption is so widespread that a TikTok trend has women posting videos of their luxurious holidays with the tongue-in-cheek caption “POV: ani-ani simpanan pejabat” – ani-ani being another slang term for a “kept woman”.
This assumption is apparently not without basis. According to Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chief Ibnu Basuki Widodo, many corrupt male officials – who account for 91 per cent of the offenders – funnel their ill-gotten gains through their mistresses.
He even suggested that the officials deliberately sought out mistresses with this particular intention in mind.
“After committing graft, the (corrupt official) will distribute the money… to his children, to his wife, to religious charities, to his savings. What will he do if he still has one billion rupiah (S$74,000) left over?” Mr Ibnu asked at an anti-corruption seminar at the Purwokerto District Court in Central Java on April 16.
“He’ll see a beautiful young woman and approach her.”
Ibnu added that adultery – defined in Indonesia’s Criminal Code as sexual relations between people who are not married to each other, including between two unmarried people – is a crime that is frequently linked to cases of corruption.
“Sometimes adultery leads to corruption; other times, corruption leads to adultery,” he said.
Ibnu’s remarks have gone viral, mainly because they confirmed what many people had already guessed.
“Where has KPK been all this time – how come you’ve just realised this?” one commenter on Instagram wrote.
The issue has gained more attention as several women have spoken publicly about receiving money from government officials, sometimes even openly admitting to extramarital affairs with these men.
In one example, model Ayu Aulia – known for her numerous plastic surgery procedures – told entertainment news site CumiCumi.com on April 18 that her most recent operation had been funded, at least in part, by a government official.
“There’s a government official who supports my life, so that really helps… He wants me to look natural but high-maintenance – that’s what officials are looking for these days,” she said, though she did not explicitly define her relationship with the unnamed pejabat.
Fellow model Lisa Mariana, who has more than 1.1 million followers on Instagram, has gone even further. In 2025, she made waves when she claimed that former West Java governor Ridwan Kamil had fathered her child.
Ridwan admitted to providing money to Lisa, but denied being the father of the child. DNA testing later cleared him, but Lisa has never backed down from her claim and has even stated publicly that he is not the only public official with whom she has had an affair.
Lisa has since been summoned by KPK investigators in relation to a corruption case involving the West Java Bank, but has not been charged with any crime.
When contacted by The Straits Times, KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo confirmed that corrupt officials or businessmen often employ a technique described as “layering” to distance themselves from their criminal activities.
He said that in most cases, the people on the receiving end of the funds were co-conspirators. However, Budi acknowledged the possibility that some recipients might not realise the money or goods they receive are the result of graft.
“If someone unexpectedly receives any kind of assets or anything similar from a state administrator or public official, they must exercise caution and inquire about the origin of the funds. If it is money that comes from the proceeds of a crime, it can be traced, investigated and later confiscated by the state,” he said.
When asked about Ibnu’s comments and whether the KPK had any specific examples of cases where graft money was funnelled through a mistress, Budi declined to comment.
“I’m sure you know a few cases where that has been revealed,” he told ST.
One recent high-profile case involved former agriculture minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo. In his graft trial in 2024, singer Nayunda Nabila testified that she had received both money and luxury items from Syahrul, including a black Balenciaga bag and a gold necklace.
During the same trial, Syahrul admitted that he had given money to Nayunda, but claimed that it was due to his sympathy for her as a fellow ethnic Bugis.
“During Covid-19, she was about to be evicted from her apartment – I was just trying to do a good deed,” he said at the time.
Syahrul was found guilty of corruption in 2024 and is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence.
Nayunda has since surrendered 70 million rupiah in cash to the KPK, and in November 2025, she was further interrogated over a money laundering case involving Syahrul, which has yet to go to trial.
Trisakti University money laundering expert Yenti Ganarsih said Mr Ibnu’s comments raise several questions.
“First of all, how does the KPK know that the money is going to these mistresses? Is it from tracing the money or is it from the confession of the suspect?” she told ST.
“If it’s from the suspect, it’s possible that they’re just trying to obscure where the money actually went.”
She added that if Ibnu’s comments were true, then the KPK should pursue more money laundering cases in order to restore the state’s losses.
According to data from watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch, only 103 defendants were indicted on money laundering charges between 2020 and 2024, despite there being 515 corruption indictments during the same period.
“Even if there is not enough evidence to bring charges against the women, it is still possible for the state to confiscate the funds,” Dr Yenti said.
“And this is something that the KPK should take seriously, because it involves the people’s money.” – The Straits Times/ANN