Fantastical Fund Flow Discovered in Account of Elephant Ivory Hunter in Riau

The Riau Regional Police (Polda Riau) have charged two suspects in a Sumatran elephant ivory trafficking network with money laundering (TPPU). An analysis by Polda Riau uncovered fantastical fund flow transactions linked to the trade in elephant ivory and other protected wildlife. “Based on the analysis, investigators discovered fund flows with a total transaction value reaching Rp 1,872,000,000 through 34 transactions,” said the Director of Special Criminal Investigation for Polda Riau, Senior Commissioner Ade Kuncoro Wahyu, during a press conference at the Riau Regional Police headquarters in Pekanbaru on Thursday (11/6/2026). In this money laundering case, Polda Riau has named two suspects, identified as FA (62) and FS (43). Both had previously been named in cases of ivory trading and illegal hunting of protected wildlife. “Based on sufficient preliminary evidence, investigators named FA and FS as suspects in the crime of money laundering. These two suspects are strongly suspected of disguising assets obtained from wildlife trafficking crimes,” he added. Ade Kuncoro explained that the billions of rupiah were received by suspect FA from an individual with the initials HY, whose funds originated from the ivory trade previously shipped by FS, AC, and AR. Suspect FA is a recidivist who has been entangled in the same crime several times, most recently in 2019, and was only released from prison in 2022 before resuming his activities. “In this elephant poaching network, FA was tasked with supplying logistics and providing capital to the hunters in the field. He was previously apprehended by us in the Kampar region,” he continued. Based on further investigation, from 2024 to 2026, there were at least nine locations where protected Sumatran elephants were poached. Suspect FA acted as the main financier, providing funds to the hunters, both in cash and via bank transfers. “After the elephant was killed and its tusks removed, FA sold the ivory to HY, who is based in Padang City, West Sumatra, using land transportation services,” he elaborated. For their actions, the suspects are charged under Article 607 paragraph (1) letter a of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code on Money Laundering. This article states that any person who places, transfers, forwards, spends, pays, grants, entrusts, brings abroad, changes form, exchanges for currency or securities, or commits other acts upon assets known or reasonably suspected to be the proceeds of crime with the aim of concealing or disguising the origin of the assets, shall be punished with a maximum imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum fine of category VII. Furthermore, Senior Commissioner Ade Kuncoro stated that through handling this case, Polda Riau affirms its commitment to supporting the Green Policing policy through the application of a Green Financial Crime approach as a law enforcement strategy against environmental crime and protected wildlife trafficking. He also stressed that this firm action aims to sever the crime chain from the financial side, weaken the syndicate network of perpetrators, eliminate the economic incentives that are the main motivation for the crime, and provide a maximum deterrent effect. “The application of money laundering charges in this case is a real implementation of the ‘follow the money’ method. This means that law enforcement does not stop only at taking repressive action against the main perpetrators in the field, but also traces, freezes, seizes, and confiscates all economic profits obtained from the proceeds of crime,” he asserted.