Counterfeit Money Syndicate Printed Twice, 4,000 Notes 'Defective'
West Jakarta Metro Police have revealed that a cross-regional counterfeit money syndicate has produced fake rupiah notes on two separate occasions. Of the 12,000 notes printed, 8,000 were successfully circulated while the remaining 4,000 were declared ‘production defects’.
West Jakarta Metro Police Chief Commissioner Nasriadi stated that the counterfeit money was produced at two crime scenes: Tasikmalaya, West Java, and Banyumas, Central Java. ‘Tasikmalaya alone printed twice. The first printing was 12,000 notes, of which 4,000 were defective — meaning they were not perfect or did not resemble the genuine notes,’ Nasriadi said during a press conference at West Jakarta Metro Police headquarters on Monday (25/8/2026).
The 8,000 counterfeit notes that were successfully produced had been circulated by the syndicate. These notes were sold for Rp 225 million. ‘The counterfeit money was then distributed by the suspects, either by mixing it with genuine money or by purchasing goods in large quantities,’ he explained.
The case came to light following a public report regarding the circulation of counterfeit money at Jakarta Kota Station in August 2026. The report was followed up until the counterfeit money network was eventually uncovered.
In this case, West Jakarta Metro Police seized 40 items of evidence, including counterfeit money printing machines. From the Banyumas crime scene, police also seized a long-format printing machine that had been prepared for the ‘next product’. ‘At the second crime scene, we also seized a machine in Welahar Village, Wangon District, Banyumas Regency. This machine is long, like a train. The machine in Wangon was intended for the next product — if successful, they would have multiplied the money further,’ he explained.
Additionally, police seized 15,610 counterfeit notes in Rp 100,000 denominations. According to the police chief, the counterfeit money cannot be converted into rupiah currency because it has no value. ‘Because counterfeit money cannot be valued in rupiah. So you can assess for yourselves: one note at Rp 100,000 multiplied by 15,610 notes,’ he said.
In this operation, West Jakarta Metro Police arrested 11 suspects. The identities of the suspects and their roles are as follows:
Suspect S as financier or funder, supplier
Suspect N responsible for printing/finishing
Suspect MK alias J responsible for designing and binding the money
Suspect R responsible for designing
Suspect W responsible for perforating
Suspect AH
Suspect K
Suspect ARP
Suspect GM
Suspect HW as distributor and custodian
Suspect SP