Cypriot sought for fraud and possible money laundering

INDONESIAN police are pursuing a Cypriot suspected of committing fraud using the internet, and are investigating his participation in a possible money laundering operation.

The man, along with a British Cypriot, are two of four members of a suspected fraud syndicate still being sought by police – and who are now on an international wanted list – following the arrest three days ago of two syndicate members in North Sumatra.

The arrests were the result of a police operation begun when the Austrian Embassy in Jakarta received a complaint from Emmeran Fischer, and Austrian national.

According to the Indonesian police, Fischer had seen an ad for cheap electronic goods at www.alibaba.com, an international trading website. He met with the suspects at a warehouse in Pancing, North Sumatra, and agreed to buy 32,000 units of electronic goods, including Nintendo Wiis, Nintendo Games, Sony PS3s, and Apple iPhones.

“The transaction had a value of around US$1 million,” said Commander General Susno Duadji, chief of the National Police criminal investigation division. Fischer transferred the money to a local Indonesian branch of PT Bank Mega through JPMorgan Chase Bank in New York, ahead of the agreed delivery deadline of December 20, 2008.

However, the purchased goods never arrived in Vienna, Austria by the deadline. The suspects claimed that bad weather had delayed the delivery, and requested more money to send the goods by sea. “The victim then sent an additional US$900,000 for the delivery,” Susno said. “But the promise was still not upheld.”

As part of their investigation into Fischer’s complaint, police went to the warehouse and found two boxes containing thousands of packages. But when the packages were thoroughly searched, they were found to contain nothing more than bricks and paper. Only three packages contained electronic goods, and they were the samples used to agree the initial transaction.

The Indonesian police and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) are now investigating a possible money laundering operation through three bank accounts belonging to the suspects. The banks involved are Panin Bank, Bank CIMB Niaga, PT Bank Mega in Indonesia and DBS Bank in Singapore.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.