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.

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Global software security group Kaspersky Lab says Indonesia is the leading country in terms of online financial fraud. Based on a survey conducted by Kaspersky Lab involving 26 countries around the globe, 26 percent of online consumers in Indonesia become victim of online financial fraud. Countries that rank second and third in this index are Vietnam (25 percent) and India (24 percent). Ross Hogan, Global Head of Kaspersky Lab's Fraud Prevention Division, says the company detected an increasing amount - and a wider variety - of online financial scams worldwide.

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According to the Central Java Police Department, executions of 13 convicted drug traffickers - through firing squad - are being prepared and should be completed within a couple of weeks. Names and nationalities of the 13 people on death row in Indonesia have not been published yet. However, it is reported in media that three Indonesian prisoners have been transferred to the island Nusa Kambangan, the location where executions usually take place, on Sunday (08/05).

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The crime rate in Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta fell slightly in 2015. Whereas in 2014 there occurred 44,687 crime cases in Jakarta, the following year the number had fallen to 44,304 cases, a mere 0.87 percent decline (year-on-year). Inspector General Tito Karnavian, Chief of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Command, said this decline is an indication that effectiveness and efficiency of crime prevention has improved. In 2015 one out of every 513 people in Jakarta became victim of crime.

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Nico Afinta, Head of the Jakarta Police's Narcotics Unit, said the number of drug users in Indonesia is estimated to have grown up to 5 million people. They are particularly centered in Jakarta (where it is estimated that up to 1 million people use illegal drugs) and Bali. Afinta added that the high number of drug users makes Indonesia an attractive market for drug smugglers or traffickers, particularly as law enforcement in Indonesia is generally weak. Therefore, tough action is required.

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Around the globe there are plenty of fraudulent investment scams offered to investors (for example the "ponzi scheme", "pump and dump", and many others). This also occurs in Indonesia, or, related to Indonesia. Perpetrators can be Indonesian or foreign. In case of foreigners, the offshore investing scheme is a popular scheme (and a fairly simple one in the era of Internet). Criminals offer victims a lucrative investment opportunity in Indonesia, promising big profits. However, investors will never see their money again.

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Despite being a hot topic in Indonesia since the start of the year, we ignored the murder case of Mirna Salihin. However, we decided to devote one article on the topic because on Thursday (27/10) Mirna's friend, 27-year old Jessica Kumala Wongso, was sentenced to 20 years in prison having been found guilty - by the Central Jakarta District Court - of murdering Mirna by putting cyanide in her Vietnamese iced coffee. The whole case and trial bear resemblance to the O.J. Simpson murder case in Los Angeles (USA) in 1995 in terms of public attention and media coverage.

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More and more signs indicate that Indonesia is about to have a new round of executions. Convicted Indonesian drug trafficker Merry Utami - who received the death sentence for carrying more than a kilogram of heroin - was moved from a women's prison in Tangerang (Banten province) to Nusa Kambangan Island (an offshore part of Central Java) this weekend. Nusa Kambangan Island is the spot where Indonesian authorities routinely carry out executions. Meanwhile, reportedly, the embassy of Nigeria was asked to visit four Nigerian prisoners at the Nusa Kambangan prison at the start of the week.

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