Jakarta. The Oversight Body of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) declared on Thursday that 78 employees were guilty of accepting bribes from corruption detainees.

However, the imposed sanction was merely an order for them to issue an "open and direct apology."

The ethics hearing was conducted against 90 KPK employees accused of accepting bribe money from detainees, but 12 of them couldn't be sanctioned because the bribery occurred before the Oversight Body was established. Their case was referred to the KPK for internal disciplinary actions.

"The Oversight Body cannot take retroactive action against them," said the body’s chairman, Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean, at the KPK headquarters in Jakarta.

The hearing followed a months-long investigation into widespread bribery at KPK’s detention facilities, where detainees paid guards and other officials for access to telecommunication devices and various other privileges, such as ordering food using mobile apps.

The investigation revealed that corrupt employees had amassed at least Rp 4 billion ($257,000) in bribes from detainees between December 2021 and March 2023.

"Almost all suspects detained here claimed to have bribed officials,” said Oversight Body member Albertina Ho.

Albertina, a former judge, refrained from disclosing the names of the detainees, asserting, "It’s not our authority to judge those detainees. We deal only with the KPK employees."

KPK’s detainees predominantly include wealthy suspects, such as lawmakers, business executives, mayors, governors, regents, and even ministers arrested for high-profile graft cases.

The law mandates KPK to investigate corruption cases involving at least Rp 1 billion worth of stolen state money.