Cracking Down on Rp25.8 Trillion Illegal Gold Money Laundering, Bareskrim Raids Gold Shops in East Java
Jakarta — The Directorate of Special Economic Crimes (Dittipideksus) at the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri) has moved swiftly to uncover alleged money laundering derived from illegal gold mining operations.
Several locations in East Java were raided, including a gold shop in Nganjuk. Searches were conducted simultaneously at three separate locations in Surabaya and Nganjuk, East Java. One of the premises searched was Toko Emas Semar in the Nganjuk area.
“Today, investigators from the Dittipideksus Bareskrim Polri conducted searches at three locations simultaneously in the Surabaya and Nganjuk areas,” said the Director of Special Economic Crimes at Bareskrim Polri, Brigadier General Ade Safri Simanjuntak, on Thursday, 19 February 2026.
The case is a development from an illegal gold mining case that had already been sentenced at the Pontianak District Court. The original offence took place within the jurisdiction of West Kalimantan during the period 2019–2022.
“Based on the findings from the investigation into the predicate offence and trial evidence, the flow of illegal gold shipments and the movement of proceeds from unlicensed mining activities to several parties has been identified,” said Ade Safri.
From the searches at the three locations, investigators seized a number of items of evidence including letters and documents allegedly linked to the receiving and sale of gold from unlicensed mining operations.
“The searches uncovered evidence related to criminal offences in the form of various letters and documents, as well as other evidence suspected to constitute proceeds of money laundering from the predicate offence,” he said.
Beyond that, investigators also discovered suspected irregular transactions within the domestic gold trade. These transactions allegedly involved gold shops and gold refining companies using raw materials sourced from illegal mines.
The findings were based on an Analytical Report (LHA) from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK), which now forms the basis for expanding the money laundering case.
“Investigators are also collaborating with PPATK to trace financial transactions in uncovering this case,” he said.
PPATK data revealed that the value of gold trading transactions linked to illegal mining during the period 2019–2025 reached a staggering Rp25.8 trillion. The modus operandi involved the purchase of gold from illegal mines by certain gold refining companies and export firms.