TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Counterfeit money being circulated to bribe voters
As regional head elections approach, people are being told to be wary of election candidates offering money because of the widespread circulation of counterfeit banknotes in the country
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A
s regional head elections approach, people are being told to be wary of election candidates offering money because of the widespread circulation of counterfeit banknotes in the country.
On Monday, the National Police revealed that they had arrested eight suspects believed to be involved in printing counterfeit banknotes for election candidates. The suspects, who were said to be part of a syndicate, had been caught in different areas ' Ciputat, East Bogor, Garut, Karawang, Cikampek and Bekasi ' since November.
'We have discovered a case of counterfeit banknotes in rupiah and dollar currencies. As the regional elections are approaching, the discovery is relevant,' the National Police's special economic crimes director Brig. Gen. Bambang Waskito said in Jakarta on Monday.
'The group gets orders [to print money] from Kalimantan and the eastern parts of Indonesia,' he added, refusing to give further information on the names of candidates who had ordered the fake money, which has been valued at hundreds of millions of rupiah.
During the raid, the police confiscated counterfeit banknotes comprising Rp 100 million (US$ 7,215) in denominations of Rp 100,000 and Rp 50,000, $9,800 worth of dollar bills and 5,000 Brazilian real in 130 banknotes.
The police also took a printer, paper and other tools for further investigation.
Meanwhile, Bambang encouraged voters to select leaders based on their hearts.
'Do not believe the leaders who give you money. You can see [some candidates] have prepared fake money [to give away],' he said.
Bank Indonesia's (BI) data management and counterfeit money prevention division head, Hasiholan Siahaan, said that the circulation of counterfeit money was increasing as the 2015 regional elections approached.
He said that during 2015, at least 136,558 counterfeit banknotes were circulated among the public, excluding 144,097 bills worth Rp 1.4 billion that had been confiscated by the police.
According to Hasiholan, 19 counterfeit bills could be found in every one million banknotes.
'The ratio is increasing. Last year we just had nine counterfeit banknotes per one million banknotes,' Hasiholan said.
The situation peaked in October when BI predicted that in every one million banknotes, 69 banknotes would be fake.
'The biggest fake banknote circulation area was East Java, reaching 150,464 banknotes during January to October 2015, then Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Lampung, Bali, North Sumatra and Yogyakarta,' he said.
Simultaneous regional elections will be held in 269 regions across the country on Wednesday.
It has been reported that representatives of 30 foreign election bodies and embassies as well as various local organizations will take part in monitoring the elections.
___________________________________
To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News.
For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com
