The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) revealed that desk collection operators or debt collectors who work for illegal online loan companies (pinjol) are paid up to tens of millions of rupiah every month.
From the police investigation, it was also revealed that the operator also received housing to daily accommodation outside of salary.
“(The salary) is between Rp. 15-20 million per month. For accommodation, the lenders have prepared accommodation,” said the Director of Special Economic Crimes (Dirtipideksus) of the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency Brigadier General Helmy Santika to reporters, Friday (15/10).
In this case, investigators arrested a total of seven suspects who are desk collection syndicates for a number of illegal lending companies operating in Indonesia.
This desk collections officer is a field operator employed by a foreign national with the initials ZJ. They previously received training to operate a number of advanced tools.
In this case, for example is a tool called simbox. This tool serves to manipulate mobile phone numbers from the user to the recipient. So, the company can do sms blasting to the victim.
The seven people were arrested in eight different locations in the Jakarta area since Tuesday (12/10) yesterday. In this case, investigators are still hunting for a foreign national (foreigner) with the initials ZJ who is suspected of being the financier of the syndicate.
They, he said, had long been recruited by investors to carry out sms blasting tasks for victims who were given loans.
“Some have been 3 months, 6 months, varied. Some have even been a year,” he said.
Seven suspects helped the loan company to spread text messages containing threats and defamation to its borrowers. They are third parties employed for
a number of other lending companies.
Helmy explained that the suspects were arrested after Bareskrim investigators investigated the suicide of a housewife with the initials WPS (38) who was in debt in Wonogiri, Central Java.
For their actions, the suspects were snared in layers, namely Article 45B in conjunction with Article 29 and/or Article 45 paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 27 paragraph (1) and/or Article 45 paragraph (3) in conjunction with Article 27 paragraph (3) and/or Article 45 paragraph (4) in conjunction with Article 27 paragraph (4) and/or Article 51 paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 35 of the Republic of Indonesia Law No. 19 of 2016 concerning Amendments to the Law of the Republic of Indonesia. No.11 of 2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) and/or Article 3, Article 4 and Article 5 of Law no. 8 of 2010 concerning Prevention and Eradication of the Crime of Money Laundering and/or Article 311 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the 1st Criminal Code.
They face a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a maximum fine of Rp. 10 billion.
