Bareskrim Reveals Online Gambling Modus Deposit Rp890 Billion

JAKARTA - The Directorate of General Crime of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Unit has uncovered an international online gambling network that uses mobile phone credit for deposits with transactions of more than Rp890 billion.

Director of General Crime of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police, Brigadier General Wira Satya Triputra, said investigators had named nine people as suspects in the case.

"This is the first case, which may be quite unique because based on the results of the investigation and the deepening of our colleagues in the investigation team, we can find a method of playing online gambling using the deposit pulsa that is in the mobile phone of the holders," he said as reported by ANTARA, Friday, August 14.

The nine suspects have initials AI, J, LS, KS, AV, S, N, TW, and RV.

Wira said the network operated the Ujangbet site which used servers in Cambodia.

Players make a deposit by sending a pulsa to a phone number listed on the site.

The pulsa from the players is then collected by administrators in Cambodia who then contact intermediaries in Indonesia who have a network of pulsa agents or distributors.

According to Wira, distributors connected to the network are in Batam, Medan, and Pekanbaru.

The collected pulsa is then converted into rupiah by selling it to pulsa agents or distributors at a price below the price set by the telecommunications service provider.

The pulse is then resold to agents and pulsa stores in Indonesia.

Investigators suspect that the scheme for buying and selling pulsa is used to disguise the money from online gambling.

Based on the results of coordination with the Financial Transaction Reporting and Analysis Center (PPATK), transactions related to these activities during the period April 2025 to April 2026 reached more than IDR 890 billion.

The suspects have different roles, including as providers and controllers of deposit accounts, administrators of pulsa transfers, administrators of pulsa controllers, providers of telephone numbers, agents, and pulsa purchase collectors.

In the disclosure of the case, investigators seized, among others, 28 mobile phones, four laptops, 34 savings books, 34 ATM cards or debit cards, foreign exchange, gold and silver jewelry, and cash of around Rp. 10 billion.

The suspects were charged with Article 426 and/or Article 607 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code in conjunction with Law Number 1 of 2026 concerning Criminal Adjustment.

Investigators are still conducting a search for assets suspected of originating from online gambling activities.