Indonesia arrests 31 online gambling site employees
Authorities in Bali have arrested 31 people suspected of being involved in an illegal gambling business. The group reportedly operates multiple online gambling platforms, including Hotel Slot 88, Cuan 88, Jaya Slot 28, Oscar 28 and Sera 77.
The 31 defendants held different roles in the organization, which had a solid business structure. Those arrested include team leaders, telemarketing departments and administrative departments. The raid, which resulted in the seizure of 240 computers and laptops, strengthened prosecutors' charges and could lead to more arrests.
The telemarketer faces charges under Indonesia's Information Technology Act and Indonesia's Penal Code. The leaders will face additional charges, including at least money laundering. That means leaders could face up to 20 years in prison, depending on the amount of evidence authorities present. This does not include the 100 billion rupiah ($6.5 million) fine they may pay for money laundering.
Authorities also froze 58 bank accounts at various financial institutions.
Adi Vivid Agustiadi Bachtiar, chief of the National Cybercrime Police, told a news conference on Wednesday that the gang and its activities in the southern city of Denpasar had been dismantled. . Vived added that the arrests were made following a tip-off to the authorities.
On Friday, police conducted an early morning raid on the headquarters. The gang's residence, Marina Suites Apartments, was also raided.
There was no evidence that the person responsible for the property was involved in illegal gambling activities.
Indonesian Gambling Laws
There were a number of illegal gambling-related incidents in Indonesia last year, although those behind them sometimes escaped. Police officials promised to crack down hard to prevent the situation from getting out of control.
Gambling is illegal in Indonesia and has heavy fines. Vivid confirmed in a separate statement this week that anyone promoting online gambling will be prosecuted.
Under the country's Electronic Information and Transactions Law, online gambling operators can be sentenced to six years in prison and fined 1 billion rupiah ($65,530). The penalty would be a major blow in a country where the average annual salary is 146 million rupiah ($9,581).
The ban applies to everyone, including influencers who consider themselves pariahs. Indonesia passed the law after social media figures were criticized for promoting gambling or even legal gambling.
Vived warned that several influential people have been brought to the attention of the police. He added that the men would be prosecuted if the evidence supported the charges of illegal gambling.
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Source: www.casino.org
