Police arrest 11 members of counterfeit money production and distribution syndicate
The West Jakarta Metro Police, together with the Tamansari Metro Police, have arrested eleven suspects linked to a network producing and distributing counterfeit money operating across several regions.
West Jakarta Metro Police Chief, Senior Commissioner Nasriadi, explained that the eleven arrested suspects have the initials S, MK, R, N, W, SP, GM, AH, HW, K, and ARP. Meanwhile, four other perpetrators are still being pursued by officers.
“The eleven suspects were arrested in several areas, ranging from Jakarta, Bogor, Sukabumi to Cilacap,” said Senior Commissioner Nasriadi in Jakarta on Monday.
During the operation, officers seized 15,610 counterfeit banknotes in Rp100,000 denominations.
Nasriadi explained that the case came to light following public reports regarding the widespread circulation of counterfeit money in August 2026.
Investigations revealed that the counterfeit money production was carried out in stages at two locations.
“This counterfeit money was produced at a location in Tasikmalaya, precisely in Cipedes Village, Cipedes District. We seized evidence in the form of machinery. Meanwhile, the second crime scene is in Banyumas, Belahar Village, Wangon District, Banyumas,” said Nasriadi.
Nasriadi explained that the production process involved several stages, from scanning, digitalisation, printing, adding security features, to finishing.
He stated that the perpetrators had carried out two rounds of counterfeit money printing.
In the first printing, Nasriadi said, the syndicate produced 12,000 counterfeit banknotes.
“However, of that amount, 4,000 notes had production defects, while 8,000 notes were deemed to bear a resemblance to genuine money. Those 8,000 counterfeit notes were then sold for Rp225 million in genuine currency for subsequent circulation,” he said.
In the second printing, the syndicate produced at least 16,000 counterfeit banknotes.
The production failure rate in the second round was said to be even smaller, with only 1,000 defective sheets.
“Meanwhile, 15,000 notes were successful and they declared them almost identical to genuine money. These are the ones they distributed through their networks. We are still pursuing the wanted network,” Nasriadi asserted.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the Bank Indonesia Currency Management Department, Gatot Dwi Purwanto, expressed appreciation to the police for successfully uncovering the counterfeit money case.
“On behalf of Bank Indonesia, we would like to express our appreciation to the police. This represents a form of law enforcement against criminal acts involving the rupiah currency,” said Gatot.
Bank Indonesia, he said, has conducted an initial examination of the evidence samples. The results identified that the evidence consists of counterfeit Rp100,000 notes from the 2016 and 2022 emissions.
“Based on our examination results, the quality of this counterfeit money is very low and is actually very easy for the public to identify with the naked eye using the 3D method (Dilihat, Diraba, and Diterawang — Seen, Touched, and Held up to the light),” he said.