Commission III Members Press for Unified Law Enforcement in BLN Cooperative Case
Jakarta (ANTARA) — Member of Commission III of the Indonesian Parliament Bimantoro Wiyono has urged coordinated law enforcement action in connection with the investment fraud case of Bahana Lintas Nusantara (BLN) Cooperative, given that victims are dispersed across various regions throughout Indonesia.
“Because this issue is present in almost every region, we recommend that it be coordinated in a unified manner, perhaps by the National Police Criminal Investigation Directorate (Bareskrim) as well, given that the problem exists in every region,” he stated during a hearing in Jakarta on Monday.
The hearing, held by Commission III of the Indonesian Parliament, brought together BLN Cooperative victims and the Central Java Regional Police (Polda Jateng). Victims from various regions came to parliament to lodge complaints, ranging from Central Java to Bali.
Bimantoro initially questioned how the operational platforms of BLN Cooperative, such as Si Pintar and Si Jangkung, were permitted to continue operating until March 2025, despite a warning letter to cease platform operations having been issued as early as August 2023.
According to him, this raises significant questions. For this reason, he emphasised that there should be no appearance of negligence regarding this matter.
He also highlighted concerns about the investigation’s progress, which was deemed insufficient in targeting those suspected of being the primary actors.
In the case, Polda Jateng has designated Dalyati (D), Head of the BLN Cooperative Salatiga branch, as a suspect. However, the chief leadership of the cooperative, Nicholas Nyoto Prasetyo, has not yet faced legal proceedings.
“From a legal standpoint, if the branch head has been proven guilty and designated as a suspect, the role of the primary leadership must certainly be traced and investigated as well,” he stressed.
The case is estimated to involve approximately 44,000 victims spread across various districts and municipalities, and even across multiple provinces in Indonesia, with estimated total losses reaching figures in the trillions of rupiah.
For this reason, Bimantoro also urged law enforcement officials to immediately conduct asset tracing and freezing to protect potential victim compensation recovery and prevent possible asset transfers.
The call for unified law enforcement action also came from Commission III member Machfud Arifin. According to him, the National Police Criminal Investigation Directorate’s Special Economic Crime Directorate (Dittipideksus) needs to become involved given the scale of victimisation.
“This case is not only in Central Java, but spans across provinces. The national police’s Special Economic Crime Directorate must also step in to support this case, because Central Java Regional Police cannot handle those in Bali, and they are already overwhelmed with their own jurisdiction,” Arifin said.
“I am asking the national police’s Special Economic Crime Directorate to step in and handle this case,” he added.