Maybank And Bank Mega Are Among The Criminals Embezzling Billions Of Funds Belonging To Tajir Customers

Illustrated. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The cases of embezzlement of customer money are currently on the rise. Recently the public was shocked by the news of the loss of savings from e-sports athletes Winda Lunardi or Winda Earl and her mother Flolleta worth IDR 22.8 billion in Maybank. Now, a similar case also occurs at Bank Mega.

Two cases that made the public even more eye-opening were because saving money in a bank still required the principle of prudence. The reason is, anyone can commit a crime if there is an opportunity, even though the perpetrator is an employee of the bank concerned.

Winda Earl's case began when she opened an account at Maybank Indonesia in 2014. She came to the Maybank Indonesia branch office in Cipulir, South Jakarta. At that time, Winda was offered the perpetrator with the initials A who was also the head of the branch to open a deposit in the form of a time deposit.

At the beginning of opening the savings account, Winda deposited Rp. 5 billion in two transfers, bringing the total to Rp. 10 billion. This money came from the transfer of his father, Herman Gunardi. Winda also received a checking account sent by Maybank related to money and interest in Winda's account which was reported regularly every month.

In 2016, Winda's mother, Floletta Lizzy Wiguna, also opened a savings book and transferred around IDR 5 billion by her husband to be put into the savings she had just opened. Winda and Floletta always believed that the money they kept was safe. This is evidenced by the existence of a checking account sent from 2015 to December 2019.

However, after entering January 2020, suspicions arose over his savings because of the absence of a checking account sent by Maybank. In February, when Floletta wanted to check and withdraw money from her account, it turned out that there was not enough balance. Even though he was sure that the money still had Rp. 5 billion in that account. After checking again, his account balance was only around Rp. 17 million.

Floletta then immediately contacted Winda to tell her what had happened. As well as checking the contents of his savings in Winda's account, which has been stored around Rp. 15 billion. When checking, the balance in Winda's account actually only left IDR 600,000.

The two of them immediately filed a complaint through the Maybank Branch Office in Mangga Dua. However, feeling dissatisfied because reporting through the branch office would create a lengthy bureaucracy, Winda and Floletta decided to report her loss case to the Maybank Head Office, at Plaza Senayan.

On March 10, Winda and Floletta received a complaint number. However, on the 12th, two days later, a letter arrived stating that this matter had been resolved. To make sure, Winda then called Maybank's call center care, and it was true that Maybank said that this problem had been handled by the internal fraud department.

E-sports athlete Winda Lunardi alias Winda Earl. (Photo: Instagram @ evos.earl)

After obtaining the two information, it does not mean that the answer to the fate of Wanda and her mother's money does not mean. This case has no clarity. Therefore, on May 8, 2020, Winda's father made a report at the Police Criminal Investigation Unit.

The case of the loss of money belonging to Winda Earl was only revealed to the public on November 5, when Winda visited the National Police Criminal Investigation Building to find out the progress of the investigation into the case of suspected banking crimes that befell her and her mother, Floletta.

The mode of the suspect embezzled Duit Winda

Investigators mapped the modus operandi of the Head of the Maybank Cipulir Albert Branch which drained almost all of Winda Earl's money. Based on the results of the investigation, the police already know the mode used to break into Winda's account.

Initially, Albert went to Herman Lunardi's office to leave several documents that had to be signed by Winda. These documents include, among other things, a customer's personal data application, a blank account opening form, and several application slips for money transfers and transfers.

After obtaining the data, Albert took him to the office to be entered into the system. But before that, he included another phone number in the system to anticipate suspicion when Maybank checked the data.

After the account creation is complete and the account balance is transferred, proof of making accounts such as books and ATM cards has never been given to Winda. In fact, the two proofs of ownership of the account were kept by the suspect.

"(Supposedly) customers were given books and ATM cards but the suspect did not give them to Winda customers," said the Director of Special Economic Crimes at Bareskrim, Brigadier General Helmy Santika, to reporters, Tuesday, November 17.

Next, Albert moved the money in that account to the new account he created. Transfer is carried out with a document that has been signed by Winda.

In fact, at the time of signing the documents, it was suspected that Winda did not know the true intentions of the documents. The transfer of Rp. 6 billion was carried out by purchasing an insurance policy. Albert's initial goal was to fulfill the branch's target.

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"The suspect admitted that the Rp6 billion flow to Prudential was correct and the Prudential's submission was carried out by way of transferring Winda to an account previously signed by Winda," he explained.

Prudential Insurance was created on behalf of Herman Lunardi. Then it was disbursed to Herman's account, which was managed without anyone knowing.

"The prudential insurance money was made in the name of Herman Lunardi and disbursed into Herman Lunardi's account worth Rp4.8 billion, which the management of the account is the suspect himself without Herman Lunardi's knowledge," explained Helmy.

This tricky-looking burglary mode is considered to be very neat and structured. This is because Albert can get Winda's signature and use it for personal gain.

Karo Penmas, the National Police's Public Relations Division, Brigadier General Awi Setiyono, said that the proceeds from the crime were used by Albert for foreign exchange (forex) transactions. The suspect handed over to some of his colleagues the money to be turned around for profit.

"The money is transferred to friends to be invested, turned around for profit," he said.

Recent Developments in the Winda Case

The bright spot on the fate of Winda Lunardi or Winda Earl and her mother, Floletta Lizzy Wiguna's lost savings of Rp.22.8 billion, is beginning to appear. PT Bank Maybank Indonesia Tbk finally committed to replace the money belonging to the e-sports athlete.

However, the money that Maybank had prepared to replace Winda's lost money, was not a total of IDR 22.8 billion, but only IDR 16.8 billion. Then, how about the rest of the money?

Dock. Maybank Indonesia

Spokesperson for PT Bank Maybank Indonesia Tbk, Tommy Hersyaputera, said that his party would wait for the investigation process from the National Police Headquarters regarding the replacement of the remaining savings money belonging to Winda Earl.

Furthermore, Tommy said Maybank's commitment to replace Wisma's lost savings money emerged from the mediation process facilitated by the Consumer Protection Department, Financial Services Authority (OJK). Currently, the mediation process is still continuing.

"We have stated our readiness to replace Rp. 16.8 billion. While the rest are still waiting for the investigation process by friends in the police," he told VOI, in Jakarta, Wednesday, November 25.

Tommy asked for cooperation from all parties to jointly respect the investigations that are still ongoing at this time. He hopes that all parties who receive funds in this case will be clearly exposed through the investigation.

"We'd better not precede the authorities by making speculative and tendentious statements," he explained.

However, despite efforts to compensate Maybank for the alleged theft of Winda Earl's account by the former Cipulir Albert Branch (Kacab), the police will not change the investigation process. The reason is that this case involves individuals.

"With regard to the Maybank providing compensation, which clearly will not eliminate the criminal incident," said Karo Penmas, Police Public Relations Division, Brigadier General Awi Setiyono to reporters, Thursday, November 26.

In the alleged burglary case, the main suspect is Albert. Therefore, according to the police, Albert must be held accountable for the criminal act he committed. Therefore, investigators will continue the investigation process. Including finding a flow of funds for these crimes.

"The criminal incident has already occurred, so there is criminal responsibility that must be borne by the perpetrator," he said.

Embezzlement of Bank Mega Customer Funds in Malang

The Winda Earl case has not yet been completed, now a similar case has occurred in Malang City, East Java. A 44 year old woman who committed fraud and embezzlement of money from a customer with the initials YA, with a total loss of up to IDR 5.7 billion was arrested by the Malang Police.

Malang Police Chief AKBP Hendri Umar said that the perpetrator was a former leader of one of the leading banks in the Malang City area, which promised deposit rates to customers of 12-15 percent per year.

"YA is a former branch manager of one of the leading banks, Bank Mega, and promises 12-15 percent interest per year," said Hendri, at a press conference in Malang Regency, East Java, as quoted from Antara, Thursday, November 26.

Hendri explained, there were as many as eight customers who were caught by the YA lure. Two of the customers are residents of Malang Regency, while the other six are residents of Malang City.

Dock. Bank Mega

According to Hendri, the customers and YA have known each other for a long time. YA offers its customers, to invest their money in a program called cashback deposits.

He added that the cashback deposit program was only a trick of the suspect, and was not a program from the bank where YA worked. YA promises high interest returns to customers.

"There is absolutely no type of cashback deposit savings, this is purely a YA creation. The money deposited by the customer is not put into the victim's account in the bank," he said.

The money collected by YA, continued Hendri, was out of the bank's knowledge. YA uses the money from the customer to pay interest installments to the customer, including for personal use.

"For now, there are still eight victims. However, we also set up a complaint post, if there are other victims who want to report. We invite them to come, either in the regency or city of Malang," said Hendri.

Apart from securing the suspect, the police also secured a number of evidence. Among them, 10 sheets of deposit slip for Bank Mega deposits, 57 sheets of proof of deposit for Bank BCA worth IDR 243 million, and 29 pieces of deposit slip for Bank BCA worth IDR 178 million.

As a result of his actions, the suspect YA was charged with articles 378 and 372 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) regarding fraud and / or embezzlement, with the threat of a sentence of four years in prison.

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