Police Detains Chinese National behind Illegal Online Lending

TheIndonesia.id - A Chinese national was detained by the Indonesian National Police on the suspicion of founding and operating a saving and loan cooperative that oversees several illegal online lending companies in Indonesia.

Director of Special Economic Crimes of the Criminal Investigation Unit Pol. Brigadier General Helmy Santika said the man, known as WJS alias BH alias JN, was detained in Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang as he was to leave Indonesia for Turkey with two other people.

“WJS was detained in Soetta Airport before the flight to Turkey with his two partners,” Santika said on Tuesday, 9 November.

He added that information from suspects previously arrested in the illegal online lending case revealed that WJS is the director and owner of the Inovasi Milik Bersama (IMB) cooperative. It was also revealed that WJS resides in an apartment in the North Jakarta area.

Based on that information, police started close monitoring around his residency from 27 October up to his detainment in Tangerang.

In running his business, WJS recruited people to be part of the cooperative as well as invited illegal online lenders to join as partners.

Previously on 22 October, police arrested JS who is the founder of a similar cooperative that also runs an illegal online lending business. The victim of one of the lending companies, a woman from Wonogiri, Central Java, committed suicide after falling into a debt trap.