T

he Jakarta Police arrested recently a commissioner of PT Royal Premier Internasional, a Jakarta-based property marketing company, for allegedly embezzling the funds of thousands of prospective buyers and committing money laundering.

The investigators noted that as many as 1,157 buyers, who dreamed of owning properties at 12 complexes located in Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, Yogyakarta, Tangerang in Banten and Bali, were deceived by the company with losses totaling more than Rp 800 billion (US$60.50 million).

The Jakarta Police'€™s fiscal, monetary and foreign currency crime subdirectorate head, Adj. Sr. Comr. Arie Ardian, said on Tuesday that his team nabbed the commissioner, identified as CAL, on April 10 at a hotel in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta, when he was closing a deal with a customer.

The company'€™s director, identified as IB, is still at large and currently reported to be in Seoul, South Korea.

'€œWe have put him on our most-wanted list [DPO] and issued a red notice,'€ he said.

He said the case first emerged when a number of victims filed 10 police reports from Sept. 7, 2014 to April 28, 2015.

The company, according to the police, ran its business by buying condotels from developers on a staged-payment basis and secured them in sale and purchase agreements.

Claiming that it owned the properties, the company promoted and sold them to prospective buyers, luring them with various gifts if they made a one-off payment. In gaining prospective buyers'€™ trust, PT Royal Premier Internasional, through its sister company, entered into a franchise cooperation with a prominent property agent, Century 21.

'€œBesides the reputation of Century 21, the buyers were also attracted by promotions offered by the company, such as cash back, car prizes and big amounts of return on investment,'€ he said, adding that the police would summon the management of Century 21 for further investigation.

However, PT Royal Premier Internasional, which had its office in the Bakrie Tower in Rasuna Epicentrum in Kuningan, South Jakarta, from September 2011 to August 2014, was believed to have embezzled customers'€™ money instead of making payments to developers.

'€œWe have counted that from around Rp 800 billion, the company only paid around Rp 155 million to the developers. The suspects [allegedly] benefited from the rest of the funds and used them to pay returns on investments, buy insurance, houses, land and vehicles,'€ Arie said.

He said none of the condotel units were completely built.

The suspects face multiple charges, including violations of articles 372 and 378 of the Criminal Code on deception and embezzlement with a maximum punishment of four years'€™ imprisonment, and Article 3 of the 2010 Money Laundering Law, which carries a maximum punishment of 15 years'€™ imprisonment and a maximum fine of Rp 20 billion.

A legal counselor based in Kuta, Bali, Desy Eka Widyantari, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that her office handled many similar cases.

She advised prospective buyers to conduct a due diligence process prior to acquiring a property to ensure it had all legal documents in place.

'€œIf buyers buy properties directly from a developer, they have to ensure that the properties have already been constructed at least 20 percent. (prm)