Fake loan middlemen steal in Rp 1.89b

Fake loan middlemen steal in Rp 1.89b

JAKARTA: Four members of a syndicate were arrested on Wednesday, after they stole Rp 1.89 million (US$222,353) by pretending to be middlemen in bank loans, the Jakarta Police said on Friday.

The arrest was made after the four cashed the money, stolen from 21 victims over four months.

The suspects -- identified only as BFO, GD, M and IM -- were apprehended at the Hilton Hotel, Central Jakarta, after detectives got a tip off from a former victim, who said the syndicate arranged meetings with potential victims at the hotel.

The suspects usually offered soft loans without collateral to the victims. They would tell the prospective loan recipients to pay a provision fee of around 1 percent on the loans they would borrow.

They promised the loans would be disbursed in 20 days and later asked the victims to pay a further 6 percent as a "success fee".

The loan money never arrived.

Police said the suspects admitted they had been running the scam since December. -- JP