The West Jakarta Immigration Office Class I Special Non-TPI has arrested three foreign nationals, two from Cameroon and one from Canada, for allegedly possessing and storing counterfeit United States currency.
The arrests occurred in May 2025 following routine surveillance of foreigners residing in lodging facilities across the West Jakarta area.
The two Cameroonian nationals, identified by the initials TFN and FJN, were arrested on Tuesday, 6 May 2025. The Canadian national, identified as BDD, was apprehended on Thursday, 22 May 2025.
All three individuals were found at an apartment complex in the Daan Mogot area, West Jakarta.
Acting Director General of Immigration, Yuldi Yusman, provided details during a press conference held at the Directorate General of Immigration Headquarters in Jakarta on Tuesday, 27 May 2025.
“The officer then checked TFN’s residence and found cash amounting to 1,600 United States dollars. Immigration officers were suspicious of the physicality of the dollar bills. Then the officer coordinated with the Police Criminal Investigation Unit to conduct further examination of this finding. After being examined at the forensic laboratory of the National Police Criminal Investigation Unit, TFN’s US dollar bills were declared fake,” said Yuldi.
Following the confirmation, TFN’s legal status was changed to that of a suspect for the possession and storage of counterfeit currency. A total of 2,500 counterfeit US dollars were seized, equivalent to approximately IDR 40.7 million.
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Immigration Violations and Misuse of Stay Permits
In addition to the counterfeit currency allegations, the Cameroonian nationals were found to have violated immigration laws. According to Nur Raisha Pujiastuti, Head of the West Jakarta Immigration Office, FJN had overstayed his visit stay permit by 549 days.
“He entered Indonesia on 9 May 2023 and last extended his residence permit at the Depok Immigration Office, which was valid until 4 November 2023,” said Puji.
Meanwhile, TFN entered Indonesia on 17 December 2024 using an Investor Limited Stay Permit (ITAS) sponsored by PT Mose Delta International. However, during questioning, he admitted that he had never made any investment as stated in his visa application.
Similarly, BDD, the Canadian national, entered Indonesia on 14 December 2024 using an Investor ITAS sponsored by PT Bahagia Kurnia Abadi. Upon examination, he also admitted to never investing in the company, thereby misusing his residence permit.
As a result:
- FJN was found to have violated Article 78 Paragraph (3) of Law Number 6 of 2011 on Immigration, which stipulates that a foreigner who overstays by more than 60 days is subject to deportation and deterrence.
- TFN and BDD were deemed to have breached Article 122 letter (a) of the same law, which relates to the misuse of residence permits for activities not aligned with their original purpose.
- Additionally, they were charged under Article 123 letter (a) for providing false information in order to obtain a residence permit.
Authorities are continuing to investigate how the counterfeit currency came into the suspects’ possession, the intended purpose of storing the money, and whether any victims were affected if the fake dollars were circulated.
