Indonesia Wiretapping Scandal: President Prabowo Sacks His Chief of Staff as 20,000 Troops Deploy in Jakarta
Indonesia is facing one of the most serious political crises of President Prabowo Subianto’s time in office. Three senior police generals have been detained over claims they illegally tapped the president’s own phone, the president has sacked his chief of staff, and more than 20,000 troops have been deployed to the capital, Jakarta.
The scandal has shaken Indonesia’s police force, raised questions about who controls the country’s powerful surveillance tools, and left even senior ministers unable to explain why the alleged spying happened. This article explains what we know so far, in simple terms.
What happened
The crisis broke into the open on Tuesday 3 November, when Indonesian police announced in a televised news conference that they had detained three senior police generals — arrested on Sunday 1 November — as suspects in an investigation into illegal wiretapping.
Police said the three men were suspected of ordering the secret interception of phone calls belonging to President Prabowo Subianto, cabinet ministers, politicians, journalists, civil society leaders and business executives. The alleged surveillance took place between 2025 and 2026, and police said it was carried out without following the proper legal procedure.
The next day, Wednesday 4 November, President Prabowo dismissed one of the three men — General Listyo Sigit Prabowo — from his job as presidential chief of staff, a post he had held for only a few weeks. The president signed a decree removing him that morning, according to the presidential spokesperson.
At the same time, Indonesia’s military was moving thousands of troops into Jakarta. The deployment began on Monday 2 November with about 2,100 personnel from units already stationed in the capital. Reinforcements from outside Jakarta were due to start arriving on Wednesday, bringing the total number of personnel involved to 20,980, according to the navy’s operations assistant, Vice Admiral Yayan Sofiyan. A further 13,140 personnel were placed on standby.
The three officers at the centre of the scandal
The most senior of the three detained officers is General Listyo Sigit Prabowo. He is not related to the president — the two men simply share a common Indonesian surname.
Listyo served as Indonesia’s national police chief for five years, having been appointed to the role in 2021 by then-President Joko Widodo. Last month, President Prabowo appointed him as his presidential chief of staff, one of the most powerful jobs in the government. He held that post for only a few weeks before his arrest.
The other two officers named in local media reports are Inspector General Ahrie Sonta Nasution, the head of the National Police’s legal division, and Inspector General Eko Hadi Santoso, a senior instructor at the National Police Education and Training Institute.
Police formally identified the three only by their initials — LSP, ASN and EH — in line with Indonesian law enforcement practice, but Indonesian media named all three. The three are being held at the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency detention facility in Jakarta.
After Listyo’s dismissal, Army Lieutenant General Ariyo Windutomo, who heads the Presidential Secretariat, was appointed acting chief of staff.
What the police say happened
According to the head of the police Criminal Investigation Agency, Commissioner General Asep Safrudin, the suspects allegedly ordered telephone numbers to be entered into the police’s Lawful Interception Management System without following the required verification procedures.
In simple terms, the police have a system that allows them to listen in on phone calls — but only when there is a proper legal reason, such as an active criminal investigation, and only after the right paperwork has been completed. Investigators say that in this case, there were no written requests from investigators and no accompanying police reports. The wiretaps, they say, had no connection to any law enforcement activity at all.
The alleged surveillance targeted the telephone numbers of the president, state officials, political figures, media workers, politicians, businesspeople and leaders of mass organisations and non-governmental groups. Police allege the taps took place between 2025 and 2026, during which time Listyo was still serving as national police chief.
Investigators also say the suspects ordered the deletion of intercepted communications records in October 2026, apparently to conceal evidence and remove traces of the alleged operation.
Police have seized 11 mobile phones, an iPad and four flash drives as evidence. They have questioned 10 witnesses and three expert witnesses so far.
The three officers face allegations under Indonesia’s criminal code and its electronic information law, covering unlawful interception of communications, unauthorised access to electronic systems and the deletion of electronic data. Some of the offences carry prison sentences of up to 10 years.
None of the three suspects has spoken publicly about the allegations, and Reuters reported that it could not immediately contact them or their lawyers.
Why the president’s office used the word “treason”
The case took on added gravity when the presidential palace suggested the alleged wiretapping could be regarded as conduct “leading toward treason”. Presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi told reporters that the illegal wiretaps had been carried out by “rogue individuals” whose actions pointed to treason.
That is strong language. Treason is one of the most serious charges in any country’s law, because it suggests an act against the state itself rather than an ordinary crime.
But the government has also been careful not to go further than that for now. Senior legal affairs minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said there were signs pointing toward treason, but stressed that the assessment was not final and the inquiry into the suspects’ motives was still ongoing. The government has yet to determine why the wiretapping was carried out at all.
So the picture is this: the president’s office has raised the possibility of treason, and the legal affairs minister has said there are signs pointing that way — but the assessment is not final, and no treason charge has been laid.
Some analysts quoted in local media have suggested the operation may have been politically motivated, possibly linked to struggles over power inside the government or competition for positions within the national police. That is speculation, not an official finding, and investigators have not confirmed any motive.
Why 20,000 troops are in Jakarta
The sight of more than 20,000 troops moving into the capital at the same time as senior generals were being arrested naturally raised questions. Was the deployment connected to the scandal? Was the government worried about unrest, or about a reaction from inside the security forces?
The authorities have not confirmed any connection between the troop movements and the wiretap investigation. Military officials have described the deployment as a routine national security measure to boost Jakarta’s security.
That explanation has not stopped the speculation. The timing is striking: the first troops began moving on Monday 2 November, the day after the three generals were detained, and reinforcements arrived on Wednesday, the day the president sacked his chief of staff.
For now, there is no evidence of unrest in Jakarta, and the government has not said the deployment was a response to any specific threat. But the scale of the operation — nearly 21,000 personnel, with more than 13,000 more on standby — shows how seriously the authorities are treating security in the capital while the investigation continues.
Why this matters
Indonesia is the world’s third-largest democracy and the largest country in Southeast Asia, with more than 270 million people. What happens inside its police force and its government matters far beyond its borders.
First, the case raises a basic question about power: who is allowed to listen to whose phone calls, and who watches the people doing the listening? The police’s interception system exists to help catch criminals, but this case suggests it may have been used to spy on the president himself, along with ministers, journalists and business leaders. If that is true, it means the safeguards around the system failed at the very top.
Second, the scandal strikes at the heart of President Prabowo’s government. Listyo was not a distant official. He was the president’s own chief of staff, appointed only last month, and before that he ran the national police for five years. The idea that a man that close to the president could have been involved in tapping the president’s phone is extraordinary, and it raises questions about trust inside the administration.
Third, the case comes at a sensitive time. Prabowo has been in office for about two years, after taking the oath as president in October 2024. His government has been working to project stability and control. A scandal involving the police, the presidency and a huge troop deployment in the capital does the opposite.
Finally, the case matters for press freedom and civil society. The alleged targets included journalists and leaders of non-governmental organisations. If journalists and activists can be secretly monitored by the police without any legal basis, that has a chilling effect on free speech and on the ability of the media to hold power to account.
What we still do not know
For all the detail that has emerged, there are still large gaps in the story.
We do not know the motive. The government has said openly that it has not yet determined why the wiretapping was carried out. We do not know what information, if any, was gathered from the intercepted calls, or whether it was shared with anyone.
We do not know whether more people were involved. So far, three senior officers have been detained, and a fourth person has been questioned as a witness. It is not clear whether the investigation will widen.
We do not know whether the three suspects will be charged with treason, or only with the interception and data offences already described. And we do not know how long the investigation will take, or when any trial might begin.
We also do not know the real reason for the troop deployment. The military says it is a routine security measure, but it has not explained why such a large operation was needed at this particular moment.
These are the questions that journalists, politicians and ordinary Indonesians will be asking in the days and weeks ahead.
What happens next
Several things are likely to unfold in the coming days.
The police investigation will continue, with more witnesses expected to be questioned and more evidence examined. The seized phones, iPad and flash drives will be analysed for traces of the intercepted calls and the deleted records.
The three detained generals will remain in custody while the investigation proceeds, and prosecutors will decide what charges to bring. The most important decision will be whether to pursue a treason charge or to stick with the interception and electronic data offences.
Inside the government, the president will need to fill the chief of staff post permanently. Lieutenant General Ariyo Windutomo is holding the job on an acting basis, but a permanent appointment will be a closely watched decision — it will signal how Prabowo intends to rebuild trust around his office.
The troop deployment in Jakarta will also be watched. If the soldiers remain in the capital for a long time, questions about the reason for their presence will grow. If they are withdrawn quickly, that may suggest the deployment really was a short-term precaution.
And the wider political fallout will depend on what the investigation finds. If evidence emerges of a broader network, or a political motive, the scandal could grow. If the case turns out to involve only the three officers, the government may hope to draw a line under it quickly.
For now, Indonesia’s capital is full of soldiers, its former police chief is in detention, and its president has lost his chief of staff. It is a remarkable set of events — and the full story has not yet been told.
Frequently asked questions
Who is President Prabowo Subianto?
Prabowo Subianto is the President of Indonesia. He took the oath of office in October 2024 after winning the presidential election earlier that year. Before entering politics, he was a senior military officer, and he previously served as Indonesia’s defence minister.
What is the wiretapping scandal about?
Three senior Indonesian police generals have been detained over claims they illegally tapped the phone calls of President Prabowo, cabinet ministers, politicians, journalists, civil society leaders and business executives between 2025 and 2026. Police say the surveillance was carried out without following the proper legal procedure and that records were later deleted.
Who are the three officers who were detained?
They are General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, the former national police chief and, until 4 November, the president’s chief of staff; Inspector General Ahrie Sonta Nasution, head of the National Police’s legal division; and Inspector General Eko Hadi Santoso, a senior instructor at the National Police Education and Training Institute.
Why were troops deployed to Jakarta?
Indonesia’s military deployed 20,980 personnel to Jakarta, with a further 13,140 on standby. The military has described the operation as a routine security measure. Authorities have not confirmed any connection between the deployment and the wiretapping investigation.
What happens to the three officers now?
They remain in detention while the investigation continues. They face allegations of unlawful interception, unauthorised access to electronic systems and the deletion of electronic data under Indonesia’s criminal code and electronic information law. Some of the offences carry prison sentences of up to 10 years. No treason charge has been laid.
Sources
– Associated Press (via LA Post): https://www.lapost.com/content/indonesia-s-military-deploys-thousands-of-troops-to-boost-jakarta-s-security-after-generals-arrest
– Reuters (via Spill): https://spillrphl.com/indonesia-deploys-troops-in-jakarta-as-prabowo-sacks-aide-over-wiretapping-scandal/
– Associated Press (via Tutubi): https://tutubi.ph/indonesia-deploys-more-than-20000-troops-amid-wiretapping-scandal-involving-top-police-generals/
– Reuters (via Bangkok Post): https://articlweblog.com/2026/11/04/bangkok-post-indonesia-president-sacks-his-chief-of-staff-for-alleged-wiretapping/
– Antara / Bernama (via MCI Group): https://mcigroup.my/world-news/indonesian-police-detain-three-over-alleged-illegal-wiretapping-targeting-president-prabowo/
This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.
