Police Uncover Marwah Wedding Organiser Fraud Scheme: Promised Venue Subsidies and Complimentary Roasted Goat
Police have uncovered the deceptive tactics used by the owner of wedding organiser Marwah, who allegedly perpetrated fraud against 58 engaged couples resulting in losses totalling over 2.6 billion rupiah. The owners of Marwah offered promotional packages including venue hire subsidies of up to 20 million rupiah and complimentary roasted goat catering.
“The promotional offer included, for example, a subsidy for the venue, a 20 million rupiah subsidy for venue hire. Then there was also a promotion offering a free roasted goat,” said AKBP Bayu Kurniawan, head of the criminal investigation unit at East Jakarta Metro Police, when contacted on Tuesday (2 June 2026).
Drawn by these promotions, numerous victims opted to use Marwah’s wedding organiser services. Kurniawan stated that a total of 58 couples became victims, with combined losses exceeding 2.6 billion rupiah.
Rather than fulfilling their obligations, the suspects allegedly used clients’ funds to cover costs for previous weddings. The suspect employed a Ponzi-style scheme in the fraud case.
“From our investigation, we established that the victims’ money was recycled by the suspects to cover previous wedding arrangements. In other words, funds obtained from one client were used to organise another client’s wedding. So the money was, indirectly, a scheme of digging one hole to fill another,” he explained.
The husband-and-wife owners of Marwah, with initials RM and ER, have been named as suspects and detained. They face charges under articles 486 and 492 of the Indonesian Criminal Code with maximum sentences of four years imprisonment.
Attempted Flight Before Arrest
Police arrested RM and ER, owners of the wedding organiser suspected of defrauding dozens of engaged couples. The suspects reportedly attempted to flee and hide before their apprehension.
“After the case gained considerable attention on social media, both suspects indeed attempted to flee to a location and hide. That is why we conducted a search and, fortunately, we were able to identify the perpetrators’ whereabouts and make the arrest,” said AKBP Bayu Kurniawan, head of the criminal investigation unit at East Jakarta Metro Police, to journalists on Monday (1 June).
The case originated from complaints by victims who failed to receive services in accordance with their agreement on the eve of their wedding days. As the investigation progressed, allegations emerged of the organiser relocating its office repeatedly and the owners attempting to abscond.
The case came to light after couple Aldi (32) and Feny (32) lodged a complaint regarding the fraud they experienced. Both claimed to have suffered losses of 85.5 million rupiah after using Marwah’s wedding organiser services for their wedding ceremony.
Feny stated she discovered the organiser through an Instagram advertisement. After being attracted by the package offered, she made payments in instalments until settling the full amount in early April 2026. Previously, the couple had attended food tastings, viewed decoration samples, and had bridal attire fittings at the organiser’s office.
However, irregularities began surfacing as the wedding date approached. “The technical meeting was only around 10 minutes and extremely lacking in detail. When I asked about the run-of-show, venue entry sequence, guest seating arrangements, everything was answered with ‘we’ll inform you the day before the event (H-1),’” explained Feny.
The couple’s suspicions intensified when Islamic Centre Bekasi contacted them approximately 10 days before the event. It was then revealed that the organiser had not yet settled payment for the venue.
“Islamic Centre said there was still an outstanding payment of approximately 17.5 million rupiah. It turned out the organiser had only paid a deposit of around 6 million rupiah,” stated Feny.
Aldi and Feny subsequently attempted to contact the organiser repeatedly. However, they received no clear response. When they visited the organiser’s office in the Jakarta Garden City area on the eve of the wedding, they found the location had been abandoned.
“When we arrived, the gallery was already empty. People nearby said they had relocated to Rorotan,” said Aldi.