Indonesia arrests more than 100 Taiwanese for alleged computer fraud

“Indonesian police have arrested more than 100 Taiwanese people at a villa in Bali for suspected computer fraud,” authorities said on June 28.

The proliferation of cyber fraud groups in Southeast Asia has become a growing concern in recent years, and authorities in countries including China, Indonesia and Malaysia have stepped up efforts to stop them.

Bali immigration authorities said that following a tip-off from Indonesian police, they raided the villa in Tabanan Regency on June 26, where the group of 12 women and 91 men were found with hundreds of cellphones and other electronic devices.

“They were accused of misusing immigration permits and running online scams targeting Malaysians,” Indonesian immigration official Safar Muhammad Godam said.

He added that authorities could not charge them because the alleged crimes fell outside their jurisdiction, but that they were “working closely” with relevant authorities, including those in Malaysia.

“Their activities target individuals outside the country, which makes it very difficult to define the elements of a criminal offense in such cases,” Godam told a news conference.

“They are subject to immigration administrative measures. In the near future, we will proceed to deport all 103 foreign nationals. They are currently being held in an immigration detention center in Bali for further questioning,” he added.

Indonesia, thanks to information provided by Chinese authorities, has already faced international cyber fraud networks targeting victims in China.

In 2018, police in Bali arrested 103 Chinese nationals, along with 11 Indonesians who allegedly worked for them, for running a multi-million dollar cyber fraud syndicate targeting wealthy businessmen and politicians in China.

This comes a year after the expulsion of 153 Chinese nationals involved in a network accused of fraudulently posing as Chinese police or justice officials, earning around six trillion rupees ($365.5 million) since launch of operations at the end of 2016.