List of Indonesian Startup Founders Involved in Fraud and Embezzlement Cases
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Several digital financial services in Indonesia are known to be involved in legal issues. Each platform is suspected of engaging in various schemes that harm all its users.
The latest case involves Koinworks, which is linked to alleged corruption at a state-owned bank. This case involves the manipulation of credit applications and the disbursement of funds amounting to Rp 600 billion.
Here are some names of fintech services that have faced legal problems in Indonesia.
eFishery Financial Report
The aquaculture company eFishery, which gained widespread recognition some time ago, is also embroiled in a legal case. Former CEO Gibran Huzaifah is accused of money laundering.
An initial report by FTI Consulting found indications of falsified revenue of nearly US$600 million. This action took place over nine months until September 2024.
The case was then uncovered by Bareskrim Polri. Gibran has been convicted of financial manipulation practices related to money laundering.
The verdict was read by the Panel of Judges at the Bandung District Court, imposing a nine-year prison sentence. He is undergoing the legal process alongside two other defendants, namely Angga Hadrian Raditya and Andri Yadi. In addition to the prison term, Gibran was fined Rp 1 billion, subsidiary to 190 days’ imprisonment.
TaniHub Payment Default
Two former directors of TaniHub have been named as suspects by the South Jakarta District Prosecutor’s Office in 2025, namely IAS, the former President Director of PT Tani Group Indonesia (TaniHub), and ETPLT, a former director at Tani Group.
TaniHub founder Ivan Arie Setiawan was detained along with several other TaniHub officials and executives from investors.
TaniHub, which operates in the agricultural sector, is said to have experienced payment defaults. One of them led to the revocation of the licence for TaniFund, the company’s P2P unit, by OJK, ultimately resulting in its closure.
Since 2022, TaniFund has recorded defaults on 130 investors with investments totalling Rp 14 billion. Starting from 2021, investors no longer received returns and portfolios as before.
TaniFund also had a high non-performing loan rate in 2023. Meanwhile, a report by e27 citing a former employee revealed unclear expenditures listed as Special Projects in the company’s financial records.
Dana Syariah Indonesia
Dana Syariah Indonesia is accused of financing fictitious property projects. Earlier this year, Bareskrim Polri escalated the case handling to the investigation stage.
Previously, there were complaints about difficulties in withdrawing funds by lenders in June 2025. It is then suspected that funds collected from lenders were used to finance fictitious projects, and DSI is said to have created fictitious and real borrowers for this action.
Artis Dude Harlino and Alyssa Soebandono, who once served as brand ambassadors for Dana Syariah Indonesia, were also examined as witnesses at Bareskrim last April.
Bareskrim Polri named three suspects in the case of PT Dana Syariah Indonesia (DSI) on Thursday (5/2/2026). One of the suspects is the President Director of PT DSI, Taufiq Aljufri.
Director of Economic and Special Crimes at Bareskrim Polri, Brigjen Pol Ade Safri Simanjuntak, stated that the naming of suspects was due to allegations of embezzlement, fraud, fraud through electronic media, falsification of financial reports, and money laundering offences. The case is suspected to have occurred from 2018 to 2025 through the distribution of public funding using fictitious projects from existing borrower data.
Investree Founder Went on the Run
This case emerged two years ago when Investree recorded a surge in non-performing loans. Credit increasingly piled up, and by 12 January 2024, the ratio of default rate over 90 days (TWP90) was 12.58%, higher than the OJK threshold of 5%.
OJK imposed administrative sanctions on Investree in early 2025. Around the same time, the majority shareholder, Investree Singapore Pte. Ltd, dismissed Adrian Gunadi as president director.
Adrian was investigated in connection with this case and later became a fugitive with Interpol because he was outside Indonesia. The public losses in this case are estimated to reach Rp 2.7 trillion.
Meanwhile, the Liquidity Team recorded that 1,708 Investree lenders have claims amounting to Rp 151.78 billion.
Koinworks Founder Arrested
The Jakarta Special Region Attorney General’s Office has named three suspects in this case, namely Sdr. BAA (Operations Director of PT LAT from 2021 to present); Sdr. BH (President Director of PT LAT from 2015 to 2022 and Commissioner of PT LAT from 2022 to present); and Sdr. JB (President Director of PT LAT from 2024 to present). All suspects are executives of PT LAT, the owner of the Koinworks fintech.
Based on previous news, the President Director of Koinworks from 2015 to 2022 was one of the founders of the peer-to-peer lending startup, Benedicto Haryono.
The suspects are said to have collaborated in creating false analyses and unlawfully disbursing financing from a state-owned bank to various customers.
This disbursement was carried out by manipulating invoices and insurance. All suspects are now detained at Cipinang and Salemba Detention Centres since Wednesday (6/5/2026) for up to twenty days.