Police Seize Foreign Currency and Documents in South Jakarta Cafe Raid

A joint team from the Indonesian National Police and the Metro Jaya Regional Police seized multiple foreign currencies, the total of which is still being counted, along with various important documents during a raid on a cafe in the Cipete area of South Jakarta on Wednesday. Metro Jaya Police Head of Public Relations, Senior Commissioner Budi Hermanto, explained that the search is connected to the investigation of three major cases: alleged corruption in coal procurement that triggered a total blackout by state electricity firm PLN, and alleged corruption at PT Asabri and PT Krakatau Steel. “It was concealed behind a cupboard; there was a safe and it has been opened. It turns out there were several documents and a storage of cash in a fairly large, fantastic amount, in Singapore Dollar and US Dollar currencies,” he said. Budi explained that the money and documents were found in a hidden safe on the second floor of the cafe. Officers are currently reviewing the seized documents and counting the total amount of foreign currency cash. Beyond Cipete, law enforcement is dynamically expanding searches to several other locations within the jurisdiction of DKI Jakarta and West Java. For the South Jakarta area alone, there are four to five search locations. “There are several points in Pacific Place, including in the Kuningan and Sudirman areas, and this is also heading towards the Bogor area. There are several houses including offices,” he stated. Regarding the choice of a cafe and the suspected involvement of a money changer that was also raided, Budi said these locations are strongly suspected of being places used to disguise the assets resulting from criminal activity. “It is suspected as a place used for money laundering. But that is only an allegation; we still adhere to the principle of presumption of innocence,” Budi said. He confirmed that all these cases have officially been elevated to the investigation stage. All evidence seized from a total of eight search locations will be taken to the Metro Jaya Police or the Corruption Crime Traffic Corps to maintain its validity. The search process has also been confirmed to meet the applicable legal standard operating procedures by involving local witnesses. The police stated they will provide further official information regarding the number of witnesses examined and the involvement of state officials in the case once all data has been compiled by the investigation team. Metro Jaya Police also warned against obstructing the investigation into the alleged corruption and money laundering cases involving PT PLN (Persero), PT Asabri (Persero), and PT Krakatau Steel. The three cases concern a total blackout under PLN’s management, alleged corruption at Asabri and Jiwasraya from 2020 to 2025, and alleged money laundering in the debt settlement process of PT CBS to PT KNI. “We inform anyone who tries to obstruct the investigation process that they can be processed under Article 21 of the Corruption Eradication Law,” said Senior Commissioner Budi Hermanto.