Yamisa head declared suspect in fraud case

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Chairman of Alhi Sunnah Wal Jamaah (Yamisa) Islamic foundation Abdur Rahman was declared a suspect on Thursday for his role in a financial fraud involving thousands of people in West Java.

Greater Bandung Police chief Comr. Hendra Sukmana said that Abdur, a resident of North Jakarta, had confessed to receiving Rp 20 million from the three who filed a complaint with the police in June.

After ignoring several summonses, Abdur went to the local police station on Wednesday where he was questioned for 20 hours until Thursday morning.

Three persons -- Hamdani Brata Suwignya, Sumeilyi N.K. and Agus Mahmud Salam -- lodged a complaint with police authorities in June, alleging that Yamisa leaders had cheated them into paying Rp 18.5 million to the foundation in order to be appointed as regional coordinators in Kerawang, Majalengka and Kuningan respectively, all in West Java province.

"This is a very old case, which was uncovered only after the people complained that they had been cheated by Yamisa," Hendra said in Bandung, West Java, on Thursday.

Police records showed that Yamisa had started mobilizing public funds in 1999, attracting prospective members with extremely high interest rates.

For example, they promised a monthly salary of Rp 500 million to regional coordinators, apart from Rp 2 billion in grants and Rp 500 billion in deposits.

The police, however, found difficulty in uncovering Yamisa's operations as no complaint had been filed by the victims.

"It is difficult (for police to investigate) if there is no public complaint or hard evidence. A fraud cannot be established if no one complains about being cheated," Hendra said.

The amount of public funds Yamisa mobilized is so far still unknown, but according to Hendra, thousands of people had become members of Yamisa.

According to Trisunu, a Yamisa leader detained since June, the foundation had nine regional offices throughout the country, and there was a total of 2,500 branch and 36,900 sub-branch offices.

Police said Abdur, a North Jakarta resident, would be charged with fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in jail.