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Of the 86 people examined, 79 were asked to return home to Yogyakarta. The remaining 7
people who worked as assistant managers, team leaders, HR personnel, and debt collectors
remained under examination.

Finally, on Saturday, the West Java Police's Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation
announced the name of the suspect in the illegal online loan case and it was revealed the suspect
was operating in Yogyakarta.

For the case, police applied Article 48 juncto Article 32 paragraph 2 and/or Article 45 juncto
Article 29 of Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) Law No. 19 of 2016 concerning
Amendments to ITE Law No. 11 of 2008, and Article 62 paragraph 1 juncto Article 8 paragraph
1 of Law No. 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection.

Police officers also conducted similar raids in other areas, such as Tangerang, Banten, North
Jakarta, and West Jakarta.

The raids got a boost after President Joko Widodo highlighted illegal online lending as highly
threatening to the community in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the recent OJK (Financial Services Authority) Virtual Innovation Day, the President said
he could perceive the restlessness of the lower class community which had been deceived and
trapped to pay high interest by illegal online lenders.

Widodo's remarks aligned with a report received by the West Java Police from a victim, identified
as TM, who had reportedly been receiving threats from an illegal loan company.

As a result of these continuous threats, TM reportedly suffered from depression and was rushed
to the hospital.

In early October, a housewife, identified as WPS (38), from Selomarto village, Wonogiri district
allegedly committed suicide after online loans resulted in a high level of debt. She was also
reportedly distressed over threats issued by debt collectors.

Youth behind illegal online lending

Those serving as debt collectors for illegal online lenders were found to be still young, on
average, said public relations head of Yogyakarta Police, Senior Commissioner Yulianto.
The recruited employees were residents of the Yogyakarta Special Region. Some were from
Sumatra, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, and regions in eastern Indonesia, he informed.

They registered as debt collectors based on jobs offered by the illegal company, he said.

Some had worked for two days to one month with salaries based on the minimum wage in
Yogyakarta, he informed, adding their salaries started from Rp2.1 million. Ironically, some of
them had not even received salaries, he pointed out.

On the night of the raid, Suga Pradana, one of the friends of an illegal loan employee was at the
scene. He told police that he had come to pick up his friend, identified as RP.

RP said he would finish work at 7 p.m. WIB (Western Indonesian Standards Time), Pradana said.
However, until 9 p.m. WIB, he had not shown up, he added.

Pradana said he had not expected the company where his friend had worked for just a day to
be an illegal loan service.

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