Indonesia’s Jakarta High Prosecutor’s Office has detained three senior executives linked to KoinWorks, one of the country’s leading fintech platforms, over alleged corruption in the disbursement of IDR600 billion (approximately US$36 million) in funds from state lender Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI).
The suspects are BAA, the Operations Director of PT Lunaria Annua Teknologi (PT LAT) from 2021 to the present; BH, who served as President Director of PT LAT from 2015 to 2022 and has held the role of Commissioner since 2022; and JB, the current President Director of PT LAT.
PT Lunaria Annua Teknologi is the parent company of KoinWorks.
Dapot, head of the Legal Information Section at the Jakarta High Prosecutor’s Office, stated that the three suspects conducted an incorrect analysis that resulted in the improper release of insurance-related funds from BRI through the KoinWorks platform. “The prosecutor’s office is currently investigating the involvement of other parties,” Dapot told Tempo.
Investigators have also conducted asset seizures, collected evidence, and are pursuing a deeper inquiry into the alleged involvement of BRI and customers who took part in the manipulation. The three suspects face charges under Article 603 or Article 604 in conjunction with Article 20(c) and Article 126(1) of Indonesia’s Criminal Code, as well as Article 18(1) of the Law on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption.
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All three suspects have been remanded in custody for 20 days with BAA and JB at Cipinang Detention Centre, and BH at Salemba Detention Centre–pending further proceedings.
KoinWorks was founded in 2016 as a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform with a mission to improve financial access for underserved communities across Indonesia. The company has since expanded into a broader digital financial services provider, offering a neobank, working capital loans, invoice factoring, early wage access, and treasury management products primarily targeted at micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and freelancers.
The platform also features a marketplace of integrated business applications, including accounting software, point-of-sale systems, e-commerce tools, HR management software and a budgeting application — positioning itself as a one-stop financial and productivity ecosystem for small business owners.
In 2022, KoinWorks secured a US$108 million Series C funding round led by MDI Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Indonesian state-owned telecoms group Telkom Indonesia. The company reported it doubled its registered user base to more than 1.5 million users during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing increased demand for digital financial services during the period.
KoinWorks and its representatives had not issued a public statement regarding the allegations as of the time of publication. The Jakarta High Prosecutor’s Office said the investigation is ongoing.
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Image Credit: Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash
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