Moment Liberian Foreign Nationals Suspected of Black Dollar Scam Arrested While Dining in West Jakarta Restaurant
Police arrested two foreign nationals from Liberia, initialled SDT and I, suspected of involvement in counterfeit money fraud using the black dollar or black dollar modus operandi. They were apprehended while eating at a restaurant in one of the apartments in West Jakarta (Jakbar).
The pair were captured on Wednesday (18/3/2026). In a video seen by detikcom, personnel from the Satreskrim of the Metro Jakarta Barat Police Resort approached the restaurant and found SDT and I dining in a room within the apartment building.
The officers then presented an arrest warrant to the two. Afterwards, the officers asked them to raise their hands for a body search.
The officers then secured one suitcase containing brown-coloured packages suspected to contain black dollars. Subsequently, the police immediately took the two Liberian nationals to the West Jakarta Police Resort for examination.
“It is true, two Liberian perpetrator nationals were secured in an apartment in Meruya, Kembangan, West Jakarta, for fraud using the black dollar modus operandi,” said Head of the Public Information Sub-section of the Metro Jaya Police Public Relations Division, Kompol Andaru Rahutomo, to reporters on Thursday (26/3/2026).
Quoted from the official CBP website, the form of the black money scam paper resembles US currency in terms of size and sometimes feels similar when held. However, the black dollar will appear like black, blue, or white paper if checked under ultraviolet light.
In the black dollar scam, the perpetrators usually fabricate a story about the money’s colour changing due to chemicals to avoid detection by Customs authorities. The perpetrators then fabricate a story about needing cash and offer the dollars to the victim at a discounted price.
The perpetrators will explain how the victim can ‘wash’ the colour of the banknotes to reveal the actual US currency. The perpetrators usually mix genuine money with the black money to convince the victim more. The black banknotes are counterfeit money.