Promised Rp5 Billion Capital, Trenggalek Residents Were Deceived to Rp150 Million in Money Ludes

Wakapolres Trenggalek, Kompol Herlinarto (tengah) menunjukkan barang bukti kasus penipuan (ANTARA/HO - Aldo)

TRENGGALEK - The Trenggalek Police, East Java, revealed the handling of a case of fraudulent disbursement of fictitious funds that harmed residents of Krandegan Village, Gandusari District, worth Rp. 150 million.

The victim, Wiji Astuti, was allegedly deceived by two men, namely Muhammad Ridwan (43) alias Weldan, a resident of Wonosobo Regency, Central Java, and Alfian Kasidin (51), a resident of Pasuruan Regency, East Java, who claimed to be able to help disburse working capital funds from one of the private banks.

Wakapolres Trenggalek Kompol Herlinarto, said the case began in January 2026 when the victim met the suspects at the house of a witness in Gador Village, Durenan District.

"The suspect, Muhammad Ridwan, admitted that he could handle the disbursement of capital from Bank BCA for the victim's business," said Herlinarto as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, February 12.

The suspect then offered a disbursement of Rp1 billion with the condition that the victim paid Rp100 million in administrative fees. The funds were promised to be entered through a digital banking application.

On January 14, 2026, the victim transferred Rp. 100 million to the suspect's account through the BRILink service. However, the promised funds have not been disbursed.

The suspect again offered a disbursement of Rp5 billion with an additional administrative fee of Rp50 million, which was then met by the victim.

On January 22, 2026, the suspect came to the victim's house and borrowed the victim's cellphone to install a fake banking application.

Through the application, a notification of Rp5 billion in funds appears as if it has been deposited into the victim's account.

The suspect also showed three suitcases that were claimed to contain cash of up to Rp50 billion in rupiah and US dollars to convince the victim.

"We found that the money shown by the suspect was counterfeit money. The top of the pile was a sheet resembling money, while the bottom was just white paper with the words 'thank you'," he said.

The victim began to suspect that the funds that appeared in the application could not be withdrawn. After realizing that he was a victim of fraud, the victim reported to the Trenggalek Police Integrated Police Service Center (SPKT).

The police arrested the suspect under Article 492 of the Indonesian Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code (KUHP) with a maximum penalty of four years in prison.

The Trenggalek Police are still investigating the case to complete the case file and trace the possibility of other victims.