Central Java Police has uncovered a criminal case of an online fraud syndicate in the form of romance and investment or known as "pig butchering" in the Solo and Sukoharjo City areas with hundreds of victims.
"From the results of the interim investigation from July 2025 to May 2026, this syndicate has reaped a profit of around Rp. 41 billion," said Central Java Police Chief of Cyber Investigation, Kombes Himawan Sutanto Saragih, in Semarang, Friday, May 22, reported by ANTARA.
He explained that the disclosure of the case began with a report from the public regarding suspicious activities on social media.
According to him, the syndicate operates under the guise of a company named PT Digi Global Konsultan in Sukoharjo Regency.
The company was used as a recruitment tool for workers as well as an online fraud operations office targeting foreign nationals, especially the United States.
Himawan said the perpetrator carried out the modus operandi by building emotional relationships through social media, dating apps, and other digital communication tools.
The victim, who had emotional closeness, was then directed to invest through a manipulated fake crypto trading platform.
"The victim was then directed to invest through a fake cryptocurrency trading platform that had been manipulated so that the funds deposited were controlled by the network," he said.
He said that the modus operandi took advantage of the victim's psychological condition to make a gradual transfer of funds in large amounts.
From the approximately 5,000 targets, as many as 133 people are known to be victims of the fake crypto investment.
Investigators have named 38 people as suspects in the case. A total of 11 suspects, including citizens of Myanmar and Nepal.
The suspects were charged with Law Number 1 of 2024 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions and Article 492 of the Criminal Code concerning fraud.
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