Former Indonesian Police Chief Listyo Named Suspect in Wiretapping Case

Allegations of unauthorized surveillance

Comr. Gen. Asep Safrudin, head of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency, or Bareskrim, announced the case at a Jakarta press conference. Investigators initially named three suspects: Listyo; Insp. Gen. Ahrie Sonta Nasution, head of the police Legal Division; and Insp. Gen. Eko Hadi Santoso, a senior instructor at the police Education and Training Institute.

Police believe the surveillance took place in 2025 and 2026. Alongside the president, the alleged targets included government officials, political figures, media representatives, civil society organizations, nongovernmental organizations and businesspeople.

According to Bareskrim, phone numbers were added to the police-owned Lawful Interception Management System, known as LIMS. Investigators suspect those entries bypassed verification and lacked both requests from investigators and supporting police reports. They also allege that the surveillance had no connection to an investigation or criminal case.

Investigators further suspect that someone deleted wiretap records from the LIMS computer around October 2026 to conceal the surveillance activity.

Charges, evidence and a fourth suspect

The investigation began with a police report filed by an officer on October 30, 2026. Police seized 11 mobile phones, an iPad and four USB flash drives. Bareskrim's Cyber Directorate examined 10 witnesses and three expert witnesses.

Asep said on November 3 that Listyo, Ahrie and Eko Hadi faced charges under Article 258 of Law No. 1 of 2023, the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years. They were also charged under Article 332, paragraphs (1) and/or (2), of that law, carrying up to six years, and Article 32, paragraph (1), of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law, carrying up to eight years.

Tempo reported on November 6 that a fourth person had become a suspect: Insp. Gen. Slamet Uliandi, the former head of the National Police Information and Communication Technology Division. Cyber Crime Director Brig. Gen. Suhermanto confirmed that Slamet, identified by the initials SU, had previously been a witness.

National Police Chief Gen. Suyudi Ario Seto established a special task force under Asep to investigate the case. According to Tempo, as of November 5 the team was examining whether the surveillance involved possible treasonous motives against the president. It was also profiling the targets and tracing the operation's funding.

The system at the center of the case

LIMS can be used lawfully, subject to legal limits and procedures. As described by The Jakarta Post, the system passes investigators' interception requests to telecommunications operators. Communications taken from the target's network connection, including mobile phone conversations and unencrypted standard text messages, are then copied and sent to a monitoring center.

Experts cited by the newspaper said LIMS can also gather messaging-app metadata, such as phone numbers and call durations from WhatsApp. That capability does not extend to the contents of encrypted messages or calls.

A suspect's denial and Widodo's response

Ahrie's lawyer, Krisna Murti, denied that his client had wiretapped President Prabowo or anyone else in the palace environment. Krisna noted that Ahrie had served as Listyo's personal secretary and had also been an aide to Prabowo.

"He was only carrying out the orders from his superior to analyze the numbers provided by his superior," Krisna said.

Former President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, under whom Listyo served as police chief, offered no substantive comment on the allegations. Speaking after a hearing at the East Jakarta District Court on November 5, 2026, he said: "We respect the ongoing legal process. We'll see."

From local commands to the presidential circle

Listyo was born on May 5, 1969, in Laha, Ambon City, Maluku. His father, Sutrisno, was a retired Indonesian Air Force major, and his mother was Hendrina Hitijahubessy. He finished school at SMA Negeri 8 Yogyakarta in 1988 before graduating in 1991 from the Indonesian Armed Forces Academy, or Akabri, now known as the Police Academy.

His later training included the Police Science College in 1998, a master's degree in police science from the University of Indonesia in 2005 and the Staff and Leadership School in 2006. In 2017, he completed the National Resilience Institute's Short Education Program for Officers XXI.

His early command assignments included heading the Pati Police Resort in 2009, serving as deputy head of the Semarang Police in 2010 and leading the Surakarta Police in 2011. He moved to Bareskrim in 2012 as head of Subdirectorate II in its Directorate of General Crimes, then became director of general criminal investigation at the Southeast Sulawesi Regional Police in 2013.

In 2014, Listyo became an aide to President Widodo. He subsequently led the Banten Regional Police in 2016, took charge of the National Police's Professional and Security Division, or Propam, in 2018, and became Bareskrim chief in 2019.

While he headed Bareskrim, the agency's high-profile work in 2020 included the arrest of Bank Bali case fugitive Djoko Tjandra, identifying the perpetrators of the acid attack on Corruption Eradication Commission investigator Novel Baswedan, and the extradition process involving Maria Lumowa.

A police tenure marked by major cases

Listyo was inaugurated as National Police chief on January 27, 2021. Among the major cases during his leadership was the 2022 premeditated murder of Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, known as Brigadier J, involving former Propam chief Ferdy Sambo.

The deadly Kanjuruhan tragedy that year also brought scrutiny of police conduct, prompting a reevaluation of security at soccer matches and law enforcement's use of force.

Other issues during his tenure included action against online gambling and the network known as Consortium 303 between 2022 and 2024. Police faced scrutiny over their handling of the deaths of Gamma and Afif Maulana in 2024. The following year brought the death of ride-hailing driver Affan Kurniawan and a wave of demonstrations in August.

Listyo's term as police chief ended on October 1, 2026. He then moved to the post of chief of the Presidential Staff.