Legislator urges Central Java Police to detain former BLN Cooperative chairman: don't be soft
Jakarta — A member of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Machfud Arifin, has urged Central Java Police not to go soft in handling the fraudulent investment case involving the Bahana Lintas Nusantara (BLN) Cooperative, including by immediately placing a travel ban on former BLN Cooperative chairman Nicholas Nyoto Prasetyo.
Arifin made the demand during a public hearing on the case at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday, and also called on Central Java Police to immediately take forceful measures against Nicholas to prevent him from fleeing.
“Take immediate action, as many parties have demanded. Never hesitate, never go soft as police. Carry out arrest efforts, forceful measures, including accelerating the process because there is fear he will flee—request that the individual be placed on a travel ban, and if necessary, call and arrest him,” said Arifin.
He criticised the statement from the Head of Special Criminal Investigation at Central Java Police, Senior Commissioner Djoko Julianto, who said Nicholas had been questioned twice. However, the person believed to be the mastermind of the fraudulent investment scheme has yet to be designated as a suspect or detained.
“The police have made this conclusion and it is believed to be a crime. How can the police state there are obstacles because he (Nicholas) is not cooperating, and then we just let it be? Yet, the individual has already been questioned twice,” he said.
According to Arifin, police need to arrest the BLN Cooperative chairman first, before taking action against branch heads and other administrators.
“The accumulated money must be with Nicho, the chairman, not with the branch head. The branch head is just an employee receiving a salary, not the mastermind. The main apparatus must be from Nicholas, who is his deputy, who is his deputy—there must be a hierarchy, and that is what must be pursued,” he said.
In the hearing, Senior Commissioner Djoko explained that BLN Cooperative is suspected of carrying out activities to collect funds from the public without authorisation from the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK).
On 4 March 2026, Central Java Police designated one suspect: the Head of Salatiga BLN Cooperative Branch Dalyati (D). The following day, police conducted a search of the BLN Salatiga administrative office and the houses of suspect D and other administrators.
According to Djoko, Central Java Police continue to investigate Nicholas Nyoto Prasetyo, who was then serving as BLN Cooperative chairman, as well as other administrators. At the same time, police are investigating suspected money laundering offences.
“Our current obstacle is that we have not yet received information from the Ministry of Cooperatives regarding BLN Cooperative activities, and due to the lack of cooperation from the cooperative’s chairman and administrators in providing statements and documents,” said Djoko.
Regarding the questioning of Nicholas, police conducted it twice, on 9 and 23 February 2026. When met after the hearing, Djoko emphasised that it is possible there will be new suspects, given that the investigation is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the victims’ legal representative who attended the hearing, Aris Carmadi, explained that BLN Cooperative was established in 2006. Then, in 2023, the cooperative changed from a multipurpose cooperative to a marketing cooperative.
Starting from 2017, according to Carmadi, BLN Cooperative created an investment programme called Sipintar offering 100 per cent returns within two years. Each month, members were promised profit distributions of approximately 4.17 per cent.
However, members who had received four profit distributions were enticed to reinvest funds into the cooperative. “After receiving profits four times, perhaps tempted by mortgaging their belongings,” he added.
Since mid-March 2025, investing members began to sense something was wrong as profits were not being distributed. From there, cooperative members began to investigate the legitimacy of BLN Cooperative, which turned out to have no OJK licence.
Victims, predicted to have suffered losses in the trillions of rupiah, have also filed reports with police since mid-2025.