Task Force Shuts Down 11 Illegal Pawnshops in August–September
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Financial Services Authority (OJK), together with the Illegal Financial Activities Eradication Task Force (Satgas PASTI), shut down the business activities of 11 illegal pawnshop entities between August and September 2026.
Satgas PASTI Secretariat official Hudiyanto, in a statement issued in Jakarta on Tuesday, urged the public to be alert to illegal pawnshop activities, which could cause losses through, among other things, high interest rates, unclear agreements and inadequate protection for consumers’ pledged goods.
Satgas PASTI said the 11 illegal pawnshops were shut down because they had not obtained business licences from OJK. The action formed part of efforts to enforce Law No. 4 of 2023 on the Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector (UU P2SK).
Under Article 319 of the law, pawnshop operators were required to meet licensing requirements by 12 January 2026 at the latest.
According to Satgas PASTI records, five unlicensed pawnshops were from Central Sulawesi: Abizar Phone Cell, PT Sarara Gadai Indonesia, Gadai Rama, Jastip Gadai & Rental iPhone, and Bos Muda Gadai. One, PT Solusi Intira Sejahtera, was from North Sulawesi.
Three other unlicensed pawnshops were from Bali: Solution Cell, Khrisna Cellular and NUSKAM Cell. The remaining two were from East Java: Gadai Sumber Terang and Gadai Mayora.
In addition to the illegal pawnshops, Satgas PASTI dealt with 330 illegal financial entities and activities, as well as scam schemes, between August and September 2026.
The 330 cases comprised 241 illegal online lending entities, eight illegal investment entities, 74 identity-impersonation activities and seven personal-loan activities.
Satgas PASTI found various schemes offering quick loans through websites, unofficial applications, social media and instant messaging services.
Operators typically promised easy disbursement but imposed opaque interest and fees, misused personal data and pursued harmful debt-collection practices.
The task force also found cases of identity impersonation in which perpetrators used the names, logos or identities of particular institutions to gain the public’s trust and commit fraud.
Satgas PASTI said it was continuing to strengthen its response to financial transaction fraud through the Indonesia Anti-Scam Centre (IASC).
Since it began operating on 22 November 2024 and up to 30 September 2026, the IASC has blocked 702,833 accounts linked to scams. The total funds blocked reached Rp825.2 billion, while Rp207.16 billion was returned to victims.
Satgas PASTI urged the public to be wary of investment offers promising high, guaranteed returns in a short period.
People were also advised to verify the legality of financial service providers, products and services through OJK’s official channels, and not to trust loan or investment offers sent through social media, private messages or links from unclear sources.
The task force also warned the public about identity impersonation using new telephone numbers, fake accounts, or profile photographs of family members and acquaintances.
Anyone receiving a request to transfer money should verify it through another confirmed telephone number or communication channel.
The public was also urged to keep personal information confidential, including account details, one-time passwords (OTPs), PINs and passwords, and not to disclose them to anyone.
People who identify suspected illegal financial activity can submit a report at sipasti.ojk.go.id.
Victims of financial transaction scams were also urged to report them promptly at iasc.ojk.go.id, enabling the IASC to co-ordinate efforts to block accounts suspected of being linked to fraud.