Congo man suspected of involvement in money laundering
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta Police have arrested a man holding Congo citizenship as they suspect he was involved in transnational money laundering.
"The suspect, identified as Ndoba Bijou alias Livni Shlomo, 38, was arrested on Oct. 11 at a Bank Mandiri branch at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta," city police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said on Thursday. "He was named a suspect on Oct. 12."
Tjiptono said that the suspect was charged with violating Article 263 of the Criminal Code on document forgery and Article 6 of Law No. 25/2003 on money laundering, for receiving money that was allegedly the outcome of a criminal act.
According to the police, the suspect entered Indonesia using a Congo passport under the name of Livni Shlomo and a tourist visa. He claimed to be a businessman and, during his stay here, he lived on Jl. Gandaria in South Jakarta.
However, the police received a report from the Mellon Bank in Edinburgh, Scotland, via Bank Mandiri, that the suspect's real name was Ndoba Bijou.
The suspect opened a bank account under the name Livni Shlomo on May 31 at the Bank Mandiri branch in Mayestik, South Jakarta. On Sept. 3, the bank received a US$17,500 transfer from the Mellon Bank to Shlomo's account.
A week later, the money was exchanged into rupiah and the amount reached Rp 161,957,400.
On Sept. 15, a customer service officer at Bank Mandiri, Stefanus Haryo Bomantoro, received a phone call from Mark Lloyd, the manager of the international operation service of the Mellon Bank.
Lloyd requested that Bank Mandiri block Shlomo's account because the Mellon Bank had discovered that the money transferred to Jakarta was suspected to be the result of fraud in Scotland.
On Oct. 8, Bijou came to Bank Mandiri's branch at the RSCM, but the officer said there was a problem with the money and asked him to return three days later.
Bank Mandiri immediately reported the case to the police, requesting that they take legal measures against the suspect.
When Bijou came to the bank on Oct. 11, police officers were waiting for him and arrested him.