Be Aware of Illegal Investment Offers & Online Scams in Indonesia
Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK) warns domestic and foreign investors about the presence of unclear, sometimes even illegal, online platforms or companies that offer lucrative investment opportunities. In the first two months of 2017 the OJK already forced the closure of 19 illegal platforms and companies as they were considered harmful for the consumer or investor. Several of these 19 obscure entities do not even have a clear address.
Tongam Lumban Tobing, Chairman of the OJK's Task Force, said these obscure schemes that pretend to bring great earnings for investors are a problem. As an example he mentioned KSU Agro Cassava Nusantara. The chairman of this organization did not show up and did not reply to any message when he was summoned by authorities to explain his business and operations. KSU Agro Cassava Nusantara is a West Java-based cooperation that offers a 150 percent return on investment within a 30-day period. Investors are required to invest a minimum of IDR 1 million (approx. USD $75) for the planting of cassava plants. Tobing could not provide details about the total amount of money that was invested by investors in this scheme. However, he hopes people will not participate in these kind of schemes anymore.
Among the illegal platforms are also online forex and commodity traders. For example Starfive2.com and EA Veow. According to data from Indonesian media institution Kontan, Starfive2.com has failed to pay its clients the promised bonuses and gains. It is assumed investors (mostly smaller, local investors) have invested a total of tens of millions of rupiah (more than USD $2,000) through Starfive2.com.
Sri Haryati, Head of the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti), says consumers and investors need to be careful when they invest their hard-earned money in unclear platforms or organizations. It is advised to search whether such organization has obtained an official operational permit from Bappebti. A list with organizations that obtained a permit (for brokers) can be found at the website of Bappebti: www.bappebti.go.id
It are usually the local (lower) middle class people who become victim of these scams. They have not been taught the dangers of investing and lack the awareness to find out whether an organization behind the lucrative investment offer is a reliable one. It is assumed people are highly interested in these lucrative offers because Indonesian banks offer unattractive interest rates for deposits (usually the level of inflation in Indonesia is higher than the rates offered by banks, implying people "lose" money by being dependend on banks' rates).
Investment Offers in Indonesia Closed by OJK in Q1-2017:
| Name | |
| Starfive2u.com | PT Finex Gold Berjangka |
| PT Alkifal Property | PT Trima Sarana Pratama |
| Groupmatic170 | Talk Fusion |
| EA Veow | PT Compact Sejahtera Group |
| FX Magnet Profit | PT Inti Benua Indonesia |
| PT Kovesindo | PT Inlife Indonesia |
| PT Crown Indonesia Makmur | Koperasi Segitiga Bermuda (Profitwin77) |
| Number One Community | PT Cipta Multi Bisnis Group |
| PT Royal Sugar Company | PT Mi One Global Indonesia |
| Koperasi Serba Usaha (KSU) Agro Cassava Nusantara (Agro Investy) | |
Sources: Kontan & OJK