BPKN: 'Goreng Saham' Practices in the Capital Market Must Be Taken Seriously

JAKARTA - The National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN RI) stated that the practice of manipulating stock prices or known as "stock frying" in the Indonesian capital market must be firmly dealt with by regulators and law enforcement officials.

The Chairman of the BPKN RI Mufti Mubarok in a statement in Jakarta, Sunday, February 1, said that this practice is a serious threat to the integrity of the capital market.

According to him, stock goreng is not only a violation of ethics, but also falls into the category of white collar crime and corporate crime that has the potential to harm the wider community, especially retail investors, which are increasingly dominant in Indonesia.

"Market manipulation that creates a false picture of prices and trading momentum has the potential to destroy public confidence in the capital market, as well as damage the market's function as a provider of long-term financing," said the Mufti, quoted by Antara.

He also emphasized that this practice is contrary to the provisions of Law Number 8 of 1995 concerning the Capital Market which prohibits actions to create misleading market conditions.

According to him, along with the growth of the national capital market, the risk of stock price manipulation is considered increasingly open.

Based on data from the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), the number of listed companies has continued to increase significantly since January 2023. By the end of 2025, the total number of issuers reached 956 companies, up from around 833 issuers in January 2023.

There was also an increase in the number of domestic capital market investors. As of the end of January 2026, the number of Single Investor Identification (SID) was recorded at around 21,037,426 investors, with almost nine million of them being retail stock investors.

In this context, BPKN RI conveyed a number of strategic inputs to the Indonesia Stock Exchange, the Financial Services Authority (OJK), and related stakeholders.

First, BPKN encourages the strengthening of supervision and enforcement of laws against the practice of manipulating stock prices. OJK together with law enforcement officers are asked to take firm action against any behavior that causes stock prices to move without reflecting fundamental conditions, including through in-depth investigations, as well as the application of administrative and criminal sanctions.

BPKN RI asked the OJK, BEI, and the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police to conduct preliminary investigations, investigations, and firm action if violations are found by investment managers, issuers, brokers, underwriters, and other parties, and to convey the results of their handling to the public.

Second, BPKN emphasizes the importance of increasing public literacy, given the dominance of retail investors who have not fully understood the risks of the capital market, the acceleration of the education program is considered crucial so that the public is able to distinguish between healthy long-term investments and manipulative short-term speculation.

Third, BPKN encourages increased transparency and quality of issuers, especially during the initial public offering (IPO). Strengthening the standards for listing securities, including the disclosure of information related to free float and ownership structure, is considered important so that the market is not used as a means of a false transaction that harms small investors.

Previously, OJK had emphasized its commitment to maintaining that trading on the Indonesia Stock Exchange runs regularly, reasonably, and efficiently.

OJK also stated that it would tighten supervision of the capital market, including on the activities of finfluencers who spread misleading information, as well as strengthen market conduct supervision.

In addition, OJK announced a structural reform plan to improve the quality of trading and market integrity.