Police arrest 3 suspects over donation scams

JAKARTA (JP): Police detectives have recently arrested three men for allegedly using the names of top Indonesian Military (TNI) officers and government officials to con firms and officials into giving them donations for aid to Aceh and other causes.

City police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Harry Montolalu identified the three suspects as Supriyadi, the leader of the gang, who had six different ID cards and six aliases, Aswadsi alias Adi and Rawi Minarti, alias Rawi.

Harry said police were still looking for four other suspects currently at large, namely Aswar Alamsyah alias Way, Yono, Iwan and Jimmy.

"The three arrested suspects used the names of former Aceh Governor Syamsudin Mahmud, Air Force Chief of Staff Marshall Hanafie Asnan, National Police chief Surojo Bimantoro and defense minister Mahfud M.D., among several other top names," Harry told reporters at city police headquarters on Tuesday.

He said the three suspects were arrested on Feb. 16.

"From their crimes, the three men managed to collect Rp 70 million (US$7,200), and conned several big companies and organizations into transferring the money into accounts they had opened in a number of banks," Harry said.

He added that starting last year, the men had sent leaflets requesting money to several companies, like the national satellite corporation PT Indosat, state shipping company PT Pelni and the Ancol developer PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol.

Harry said that after having sent requests in connection with several national issues, mostly concerning disasters in Aceh, to companies, Supriyadi received "positive responses" from, among others, PT Semen Tonasa to the tune of Rp 2 million and PT Pupuk Sriwijaya for Rp 2.5 million.

In October last year, they even managed to get another Rp 10 million from another victim.

A naval commander was also fooled into transferring Rp 6 million into another account of these people.

"It is reported that the Aceh governor was also duped into transferring Rp 30 million to their bank accounts in Bank BNI, Bank Lippo, Bank Mandiri and Bank Danamon Jakarta."

Harry said that Supriyadi was finally arrested when he tried to forge a signature at the Patra Jasa branch of Bank Mandiri on Feb. 14, when he claimed to be a representative of PT Rajawali Nusindo.

"He had asked Bank Mandiri to transfer Rp 821 million from an account belonging to PT Rajawali Nusindo to an account in the Gedung Jaya branch of Bank Mandiri, which was under the name of I. Sunarto, one of Supriyadi's aliases. He told the bank the transfer was for the purchase of four KIA vans," Harry told reporters.

"Bank Mandiri officials immediately smelled a rat and contacted the police, while assuring Supriyadi that the money had been transferred." (ylt)