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Minister calls for increased monitoring of crowdfunding activities
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Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa responds to questions raised by lawmakers during a hearing at the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Sept.1, 2016. (Antara Photo/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
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ocial Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa lamented on Friday an alleged misuse of donated funds by Budi Utomo, a well-known internet crowdfunding organizer, saying the case appeared to have “inflicted severe losses on donors”.
The minister also called on law enforcement authorities, especially the National Police, to take “further measures” against the alleged fund misuse.
Khofifah made the statement in response to information that Budi, the owner of popular Instagram account @CakBudi, had allegedly used money donated via his social media account to buy a Toyota Fortuner and an iPhone 7.
“Law enforcement measures must be taken to provide legal certainty on crowdfunding activities,” said Khofifah, in a press statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Friday.
During a press conference attended by Khofifah on Thursday, Budi claimed he had sold the Toyota Fortuner and handed over Rp 1.7 billion (US$127,618.15) he had received from the sale to crowdfunding agency Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT).
Budi claimed that both the Toyota Fortuner and the iPhone 7 he bought were used as "operational equipment" to support activities to channel the donated money to poor people across Java. He admitted, however, that he had never made any financial reports regarding his activities. (ebf)
