Businesspeople report 'fraudulent' seminar

JAKARTA (JP): At least 500 businesspeople from across the country reported to the police on Wednesday a fraudulent case which befell them after attending a one-day seminar on foreign trade, a police official said.

Chief of Central Jakarta police precinct, Maj. Budiono Sandi, said the seminar's participants claimed that they were cheated by the organizers who promised to bring in key speakers like former minister of trade and industry, Rahardi Ramelan, and Director General for Customs and Excise, Pramana Agung.

The names of the two speakers were printed on the invitation cards, each of which was sold at Rp 500,000 (US$75).

Budiono said that the organizers only provided a venue, seminar kits and meals that would suffice only for 300 participants.

One participant said the seminar held at the state-run pawnshop hall in Salemba, Central Jakarta on Wednesday morning was stopped after 30 minutes as most of the attendants felt cheated and disappointed by the absence of the distinguished speakers at the seminar, called "One-day National Dialog on Customs and Excise regarding Exports and Imports".

The organizing committee chairman, Much. Zawawi Suat, denied that the seminar was a fraud, but he could not explain why most speakers mentioned in the invitation did not turn up.

Zawawi said that he also had no knowledge that the seminar's invitation had been sold to 500 people instead of 300, as was planned earlier.

Budiono, pointed out, however, that there was something fishy about the organizers after they learned that Zawawi, a former school teacher, did not know the whereabouts of the treasurer, Toha, who had handled both the registration and sales of the invitation cards.

The organizers, calling themselves the Organization of Export and Import Consultants, had contacted the participants over the last two months by mail and phone calls, informing them about the seminar.

Budiono said most participants demanded that the committee pay their money back.

He also said the Central Jakarta police would conduct further investigations into the case as many similar cases had been reported to law enforcement officials. (01)