The so-called "land mafia" are organized crime syndicates that use various illegal means, including document falsification, intimidation and bribery, to take ownership of a property from someone.

The syndicates often use loopholes in the country's land registry system and work with fraudulent notaries. They also sometimes collude with or bribe officials, such as representatives of local administrations or the National Land Agency (BPN) and may cheat the judicial system.

In February, the mother of former deputy foreign minister Dino Patti Djalal fell victim to such fraud. The 84-year-old lost legal possession of at least five houses in the upscale South Jakarta neighborhoods of Kemang and Pondok Indah after members of the land mafia falsified her ID and transferred the property to a new owner.

A complex problem needs a systematic solution

Shortly after the case went public, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo ordered a crackdown on organized land theft and fraud, and the National Police responded by forming a task force, with the help of the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry.

"We want to solve the problem systematically,” Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil said earlier this month.

“The ministry is in charge of preventive measures by encouraging more people to register their land, while the police [investigate and] arrest members of syndicates. This cooperation is vital to root out such crimes.”

This year, the police have prosecuted 37 land theft cases involving organized groups nationwide, and they are working on 52 more, according to National Police criminal investigation department (Bareskrim) director for general crimes Brig. Gen. Andi Rian Djajadi.

The Jakarta Police alone have arrested 15 people in seven cases related to organized land crime this year. They prosecuted 15 cases in 2020 and 12 in 2019.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria said many city-run development projects, including for flood-control infrastructure, had been stalled by slow or botched land procurement that stemmed either from lawful land disputes or overlapping claims caused by fraudulent land registration.

In some cases, the city administration was tricked into buying land the sellers did not own.

One case, currently under investigation by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), centers on the procurement of a plot of land to be used for Governor Anies Baswedan’s flagship affordable housing project.

City-owned developer Pembangunan Sarana Jaya president director Yoory Pinontoan was named a suspect in the case last month for allegedly marking up the price of the 4.2 hectare plot of land. The change allegedly cost the city Rp 100 billion (US$6.9 million) in financial losses.

The investigation found an indication that private real estate company PT Adonara Propertindo, which sold the land – which it did not own – to the Jakarta administration, was part of a syndicate. The company was in the process of buying the land but had not completed the payment to the rightful owner, the Santo Carolus Borromeus Congregation of the Sisters of Charity.

Adonara deputy director Anja Runtuwene, now also a suspect in the case, is reportedly married to a notary who was allegedly involved in another land procurement fraud case in 2015 that cost the city Rp 648 billion.

The Jakarta administration at the time bought around 4.6 hectares of land in Cengkareng from the company without realizing that the land in question was already publicly owned. The police began investigating the case in 2016, but they have yet to name any suspects.

Modus operandi

Jakarta Police property crimes investigation unit head Adj. Sr. Comr. Dwiasi Wijatputera said solving organized land theft was extremely tricky because it was hard to differentiate land fraud from lawful land disputes.

"We need to be very meticulous to be able to find any wrongdoing in land disputes. It is challenging, especially considering that the perpetrators are usually intelligent people who understand [the loopholes] in the system," Dwiasi told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. 

Culprits often claim they have legitimate rights to land to drive inhabitants, who also often claim to be the rightful owners, away from the land.

In January, a lawyer allegedly paid a group of thugs to intimidate 50 residents of Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, into signing eviction notices and leaving their homes. The Jakarta Police are currently investigating the case and have arrested the lawyer. Both the residents and an organization that hired the lawyer maintain they are the rightful owners. The organization also insisted that the case had nothing to do with land grabbing syndicates.

Generally, methods of land theft and fraud evolve over time, making it difficult for the police to predict the moves of culprits.

Last week, the Jakarta Police arrested two people with alleged connections to organized groups for conspiring to take a 45 hectare plot land in Tangerang from its rightful owners.

The two suspects, allegedly under false pretenses, sued each other in court for ownership of the land, which in fact belonged to local residents. They later allegedly pretended to reach a settlement so that the court would issue an eviction order that they could use to drive off the inhabitants from the land.

Uphill battles

Dewi Kartika of the Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA), an NGO, said land grab syndicates often had extensive financial capabilities.

"To eradicate the land mafia, the government should also be able to stop officials, especially those with the BPN and the police, from taking bribes," Dewi said.

“Comprehensive approaches are also necessary, including opening national land registry data to the public [for transparency and better public monitoring] and cooperating with the Indonesian Ombudsman and independent watchdogs or NGOs to help monitor land fraud cases,” she added.

Minister Sofyan has promised to take "stern action" against BPN officials found to be involved in organized land theft.

From 2018 to 2020, 69 BPN officials were fired or disciplined for various workplace violations, including abusing power and accepting bribes.

Early this year, the agency removed its Jakarta office head for allegedly taking bribes for either revoking or issuing 38 land ownership certificates.

In February, the Agriculture Ministry introduced an electronic system for land certification to cut red tape and squash corruption and land cartels. The new system will gradually replace printed certificates.

"If everyone registered their land, we could solve the problem at its source. It would automatically reduce the number of crimes related to land cartels,” Sofyan said.

According to 2019 data from the ministry, at least 35 percent of land in in the country is not registered. Last year, the ministry issued 6.8 million land certificates. It aims to register all the land in the country by 2025.