Commodity exchange firm accused of fraud

Commodity exchange firm accused of fraud

JAKARTA (JP): A group of 10 people, who claim they were
cheated by a local commodity exchange firm, visited city council
on Thursday to lodge a complaint.

Spokesperson Sucipto said he and his friends and a great
number of other people, had lost billions of rupiah after being
deceived by Central Jakarta firm PT Satria Nugraha Sejati (SNS).

To attract people, the company claimed a connection with the
Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Japan, allegedly offering the capacity
to directly monitor the latest price of certain commodities
trading on the futures market, Sucipto said.

The firm required each investor to provide a US$5,000 minimum
payment to begin trading, he said.

Sucipto and his friends worked for the company as business
consultants or brokers because and were paid to seek investors.

Attracted by the promise of bonuses in transactions, these
investors in turn invited their families to participate.

"We were recruited to seek investors and were promised the
money would multiply.

"In reality, we continually lost our money, due to, as
management put it, a decrease in commodity prices."

Sucipto's colleague, Lani Kusumo, claimed she lost Rp 43
million belonging to her family in the trading.

Executives from SNS could not be reached for comment on
Thursday.

The complainants asked city councilors to work on their case
to prevent more victims, claiming the firm's management had said
scores of "active Armed Forces generals" back the operation.

Head of Commission B for economic affairs Djafar Badjeber, who
met the delegation, promised to help.

"We will even accompany you to report (the matter) to the
police again." (ind)