Indonesia President Sacks Chief of Staff Listyo After Arrest in Wiretapping Case

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto sacked his chief of staff, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, on Wednesday, November 4, a day after Listyo was arrested with two other senior police officers on suspicion of wiretapping the president, cabinet ministers and others, Reuters reported.

State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi announced the dismissal at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta and said the president had signed a decree formalizing the removal that morning. "This morning, the President made a decision and signed a presidential decree concerning the dismissal of Listyo Sigit Prabowo from his position as Presidential Chief of Staff," Prasetyo said.

A short stay at the Palace

Listyo, who is not a relative of the president, was appointed Presidential Chief of Staff on October 1, 2026, under Presidential Decree No. 105/P/2026, and served only about a month. Before that he was national police chief for five years, from 2021 to 2026. He was succeeded as police chief by Suyudi Ario Seto on the same day, October 1.

The government appointed the head of the Presidential Secretariat, Lt. Gen. Ariyo Windutomo, as acting chief of staff, The Kabar News reported.

The arrests

Police announced the suspects late on Tuesday, November 3, by initials only: LSP, ASN and EH. The head of the Criminal Investigation Agency, known as Bareskrim, Commissioner General Asep Safrudin, made the announcement at Bareskrim headquarters in Jakarta. "Investigators have named three people as suspects, identified by the initials LSP, ASN and EH," Asep said.

Local media named the other two suspects as Ahrie Sonta Nasution, head of the national police legal division, and Eko Hadi Santoso, a senior officer at the national police educational institution, Reuters reported. Police have questioned 13 people and are investigating whether others were involved.

What the suspects are accused of

The three suspects were detained and accused of illegally tapping the phones of the president, journalists, politicians, business people and others from 2025 to this year. "They allegedly conducted non-procedural or illegal wiretapping of the phone number of the Indonesian president, state officials, political figures, mass organisation leaders, media, non-governmental organisations and business people," Asep said.

Police say the suspects allegedly violated Indonesian laws on illegal interception, unauthorised access to electronic systems, and deleting electronic data. Those offences carry maximum prison terms of up to 10, six, and eight years respectively.

According to Bareskrim, as summarised in a news analysis, the case surfaced in October 2026 when an officer noticed files being deleted from LIMS, the Lawful Interception Management System, and filed a police report on October 30.

No motive established yet

Senior legal affairs minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the government has yet to determine a motive and has found no evidence linking the suspects to treason so far. He said the investigation is at an early stage, and that the interception of calls started in 2025 and continued until this year.

Prasetyo used stronger words at the Palace. "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," he said.

Ahrie Sonta Nasution's lawyer, Krisna Murti, told Tempo that his client denies tapping anyone around the Palace, including the president's number. All three suspects are presumed innocent, and no court has ruled on the case.

Reuters reported that the military said thousands of troops were being mobilised in Jakarta to boost security as the sacking was announced.