JAKARTA - Indonesia’s immigration authority arrested 210 foreign nationals in Batam over suspected online investment fraud, after officers raided an apartment in Lubuk Baja on May 6, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections said in a May 8 release.
The group comprised 125 Vietnamese nationals, 84 Chinese nationals and one Myanmar national. Immigration said 163 were men and 47 were women. Of the 210 people detained, 103 entered on visas on arrival, 57 used visa-free visit facilities, 49 held D12 or B12 visit visas, and one held an investor limited-stay permit.
The ministry said most of those permits did not allow work or business operations. It also said officers found signs that the apartment had been arranged as an operating base, with work areas, living quarters and a control room.
Immigration Director General Hendarsam Marantoko said the operation began after intelligence received in mid-April pointed to suspicious activity by a group of foreign nationals. Officers then carried out surveillance and profiling for several weeks before a 58-person joint team moved on two target locations at about 6 a.m. on May 6.
“The location was used as an organized activity center and was inconsistent with the purpose of their stay permits,” Marantoko said.
Authorities said they seized 131 computers, 93 laptops, 492 mobile phones, 52 monitors, network devices, a money-counting machine and 198 passports. After examining electronic devices, immigration officers said they found indications of scam-trading activity targeting foreign victims, especially in Europe and Vietnam, through social-media promotion and fictitious investment platforms.
The 210 foreign nationals were taken to the Batam Immigration Office for further examination. The ministry said they were suspected of violating Article 75 paragraph 1 of Indonesia’s 2011 Immigration Law, which allows immigration officials to impose administrative measures on foreigners deemed to threaten security, disturb public order or violate regulations.
They have been placed in immigration detention while officials process deportation and entry bans. The ministry said immigration authorities would coordinate with Riau Islands Police if further examination found criminal elements beyond immigration violations.
