he police have named Siti Nuraidah “Kiki” Hasibuan as a new suspect in the umrah (minor haj) scam allegedly carried out by the First Travel agency.
Kiki is a sister of Anniesa Hasibuan, the owner and director of PT First Anugerah Karya Wisata, or First Travel, who has been named a fraud suspect together with her husband Andika Surachman, the president director of the company.
The police said Kiki was a commissioner as well as financial director of First Travel.
"As a commissioner and financial director, she must have known how the directors worked and the criminality in this case," the director of the National Police’s criminal investigation department, Brig. Gen. Herry Rudolf Nahak, said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com.
Kiki was questioned by the police on Wednesday together with Ivan, her brother, who was also a commissioner in the company.
Meanwhile, about 35,000 people nationwide have reportedly fallen victim to the alleged fraud committed by First Travel, which according to the police earned Rp 55 billion (US$ 4.1 million) from the scam.
Herry said the company also owed Rp 24 billion to several hotels in Mecca and Madina, Saudi Arabia, where First Travel customers had stayed from 2015 to 2017.
The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center was now tracing the assets owned by the company, Herry said. Previously the police revealed First Travel only had Rp 1.3 million left in its bank account. (cal)
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