Is There a Link Between the de Clan Restaurant Raid and the Jampidsus Surveillance? Here's the Police Response

A café and restaurant in the Cilandak area of South Jakarta has come under scrutiny, not for its enticing menu, but for the discovery of a safe room containing a staggering amount of money. The funds are suspected to be proceeds of corruption, a case currently under investigation by the police. The French-style eatery was formerly known as Gontran Cherrier. In May 2024, it was the location where a member of the police counter-terrorism unit Densus 88 was arrested by Indonesian Military personnel guarding the Jampidsus for allegedly conducting surveillance. Since that incident, the Jampidsus has remained under tight military protection. Responding to public speculation linking the raid to the Jampidsus official, Polda Metro Jaya Head of Public Relations, Commissioner Budi Hermanto, stressed that the police adhere to the principle of presumption of innocence and refuse to speculate. “We stick to our principle, the presumption of innocence. If there are those who want to make connections, go ahead, that is outside of our statement from the police,” he said. There has been no response from the Attorney General’s Office regarding a link between the raid and the 2024 surveillance of the Jampidsus. From the restaurant, the Police’s Corruption Eradication Corps (Kortastipidkor) and Polda Metro Jaya seized cash worth nearly IDR 60 billion in various foreign currencies. Police have imposed a status quo, freezing activities in two work rooms at Kafe de’Clan Signature in South Jakarta and a money changer following the raid into suspected corruption and money laundering. Commissioner Budi Hermanto explained the measure was taken to secure the crime scene during the investigation. “Regarding the work rooms or the two rooms upstairs that were searched as offices, including the money storage place, the safe, we have imposed a status quo during the investigation into the alleged corruption,” he said. According to Budi, during the search officers found a large safe resembling a room, measuring approximately 2x1 metres, used to store important documents and money. Although the second floor of the café has been placed under status quo, Budi confirmed that company operations on the ground floor are not disrupted and continue as normal. “For operations, we return it to the management for ground floor operations,” he stated. In addition to the office rooms, Polda Metro Jaya also imposed a status quo on the money changer facility located at the same site to investigate indications of money laundering offences.