Police in Bali, Indonesia, have charged 35 Indian nationals with operating an online gambling syndicate.
Officers have charged all 35 suspects, including a suspected mastermind with the initials PS, with illegal betting and organized crime-related offenses, reported the Indonesian media outlet JPNN.
Bali prosecutors will now decide if they want to indict the suspects, said Senior Commissioner Azhari Kurniawan, the Director of Cyber Investigation of the Bali Regional Police.
The developments come after a raid on two villas in Bali on March 3. Police said they received information that the villas were being used as operating centers for “a major online gambling site” in late February.
Bali police followed up on this lead and eventually conducted two simultaneous raids, dispatching officers to addresses in the Canggu and Munggu areas of the Badung District in North Kuta.
Both areas are popular among foreign tourists.
Indonesia: Bali Police Probe Money Laundering Links
Officers said they pieced together digital evidence and “mutually corroborating witness statements” to identify the suspects.
Detectives said the syndicate was “highly organized.” Some of the arrestees reportedly worked in technical roles, while others worked as account managers.
Others allegedly worked with financial transactions that officers said were “connected to international networks.”
Police said they confiscated scores of computer devices, servers, mobile phones, and other equipment.
The evidence “shows signs of huge, systematic online gambling activities,” police said.
However, police have not yet revealed the identity of the gambling site in question. They think the site generates around $500 in monthly profits.
Police arrested four other Indian nationals during their raids, but have since released all four.
All of the suspects were in Bali on tourist visas.
‘A Wider Network’
Azhari said that the case was still active.
He said investigations are continuing into “the possibility that a wider network is involved.”
Officers believe the site may be linked to cross-border money laundering operators.
Police said the public should be aware that while Bali’s “international tourism boom” continues to grow, so too does the “real threat of cybercrime.”
Bali-based courts have jailed several young female social media influencers in recent months. The influencers used their Instagram pages to promote online casinos, courts heard.
In exchange, the influencers took payments from gambling promoters they met online.
Courts around the country, meanwhile, say online casino use is driving a wave of divorces. Officials say that gambling addiction wrecks family finances and breaks down trust between couples.
The post Indonesia: Bali Police Arrest 35 Indian Nationals in Online Gambling Syndicate Probe appeared first on CasinoBeats.
