40 Cirebon Residents Fail to Work Abroad, Allegedly Scammed by LPK, Suffer Rp400 Million Loss

Tangsellife.com - As many as 40 residents of Cirebon Regency, West Java, are suspected of being victims of fraud and embezzlement with the modus operandi of being promised work abroad. After handing over money and undergoing training at a Work Training Institution (LPK), the victims were never sent abroad.

As a result of the incident, the total losses incurred by the victims are estimated to be around Rp400 million. The Cirebon Police Criminal Investigation Unit has named a suspect with the initials MS.

Promised Work Abroad, Victims Asked to Deposit Money

Head of the Cirebon Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Kompol I Putu Ika Prabawa, said the alleged fraud occurred in January 2025 at a Work Training Institution (LPK) in Cirebon Regency.

According to him, the suspect offered opportunities to work in a neighboring country to the victims.

"This fraud and embezzlement case occurred in January 2025 at a Work Training Institution (LPK) in Cirebon Regency. The suspect asked for money from the victims with the lure of being employed in a neighboring country," said Putu, Monday (29/6/2026).

The victims were then asked to fulfill administrative requirements and undergo training before being sent abroad.

However, after all the processes were completed, the promised departure never materialized.

"The victims had handed over a sum of money, but in the end, they were not sent abroad, thus suffering losses," he said.

Losses Reach Rp400 Million

From preliminary data collection, the police recorded approximately 40 victims in this case.

The total reported losses reached around Rp400 million, which is the accumulation of money that had been deposited by the victims to the suspect.

"The recorded nominal is around Rp400 million. This is the accumulation from almost all victims," explained Putu.

Investigators are still exploring the flow of money transfers and confirming the amount of loss for each victim.

Police Name MS as Suspect

In the investigation of this case, the police have named a suspect with the initials MS.

Nevertheless, investigators are still thoroughly examining the suspect's role and the possibility of other parties being involved.

"Currently, the suspect's initials are MS. We are still investigating further," said Putu.

Investigators also found indications that some of the victims' money was used by the suspect for personal interests, including paying off debts.

"Some were used for personal interests, some were indeed for paying off debts, and so on," he said.

Manpower Office Emphasizes LPKs Are Not Authorized to Place Migrant Workers

Previously, the Cirebon Regency Manpower Office had conducted an examination of LPK Ciremai Global Academy, which is in the spotlight regarding this case.

Head of the Cirebon Regency Manpower Office, Novi Hendrianto, emphasized that work training institutions do not have the authority to place migrant workers abroad.

"The function of an LPK is to train. The placement process must be carried out by an Indonesian Migrant Worker Placement Company (P3MI) in accordance with applicable regulations," he said.

To date, the Cirebon Police are still continuing their investigation to uncover the possibility of other victims or other parties suspected of being involved in this case.