106 Failed People In Bogor Failed Umrah, IDR 1.8 BILLION In Jemaah Raib

JAKARTA - A total of 106 pilgrims from Bogor became victims of embezzlement and fraudulent Umrah fees with a total loss of Rp 1.8 billion. The victims were deceived by the promise of low-cost Umrah.

Bogor Police Chief Kombes Bismo Teguh Prakoso in his statement said that the disclosure of the alleged fraud with suspect CV (36) began when the police received a report from a family that Umrah failed to depart.

"So there are 10 people in one family who claim to have been deceived by Umrah who have paid Rp 200 million. They should have departed on December 22, 2022, and the money was not returned," said Bismo, Thursday, February 2.

He said, after an investigation and examination was carried out, it was found that the victims of the fraud reached 106 people with a total loss of Rp 1.8 billion. With an average loss of tens to hundreds of millions of worshipers.

The CV perpetrator has been undergoing fraudulent practices under the guise of Umrah since 2020 and attracting victims with low-cost Umrah travel costs, which is set at around Rp. 10 million, even though the average cost of regular Umrah travel is around Rp. 20 million.

Meanwhile, a number of evidences that were also confiscated included print out bank statements, proof of conversations, account books, vaccine certificates, ID cards, the victim's promised passport to leave and equipment for Umrah.

For his actions, the perpetrator was detained and charged with Article 372 Jo 378 of the Criminal Code with a threat of 4 years in prison.

"We will open a complaint post, people who are victims can report to the Bogor City Police," added Bismo.