The Indonesian Police have started an investigation of up to five Liga 1 Indonesia clubs as part of their crackdown on fraudulent investment and trading platforms that have been operating within the country in recent years. The clubs were investigated as the platforms had sponsored them throughout the recently-concluded 2021/22 campaign, with allegations of the clubs having received illegal funds through the sponsorship deals.
A number of investment and trading platforms on Indonesian soil are being investigated for charges of fraud and money laundering, with a number of notable influencers who have endorsed them such as Indra Kenz and Doni Salmanan being named as suspects in the case.
The police’s investigation into the case reached the realm of football as it was discovered that some fraudulent platforms sponsored Liga 1 teams in last season’s campaign, with up to five teams receiving sponsorship from said platforms.
Madura United, Bhayangkara FC, Persija Jakarta, and PSS Sleman were sponsored by Viral Blast Global, a robot investment and trading platform, while Borneo FC were sponsored by Daniel Zii under the Mr. Cuanisasi banner. Zii was the founder of another robot investment and trading platform, DNA Pro. Both platforms are under police investigation for fraud and money laundering, with Zii even being issued an arrest warrant.
Former Madura United manager Zainal Hudha Purnama was named as a suspect in the Viral Blast Global case and was subsequently arrested, with Zainal being the owner of the company managing the platform. It was Zainal who hooked Madura United up with sponsorship with the trading platform and following the police naming him as a suspect in the Viral Blast Global case, he subsequently resigned as the Laskar Sapeh Kerrab‘s manager prior to his arrest.
Other than Zainal, the police have also named Rizky Puguh Wibowo, Minggus Umboh and Putra Wibowo as suspects in the Viral Blast Global fraud, which took around Rp1.2 trillion from their victims. Rizky and Minggus were arrested, while Putra had fled overseas.
The police are currently investigating whether questionable funds from Viral Blast Global had come into Madura United’s bank account, having frozen most of Zainal’s assets beforehand. With that in mind, the police are seeking answers from the club’s current management. It is scheduled that the current Madura United management will undergo questioning regarding the fraud case this week.
Both Persija and Bhayangkara have since ended their sponsorship deals with Viral Blast Global following the case, while both PSS and Borneo remain silent about the issue.
Other than sponsoring the five Liga 1 clubs, both Viral Blast Global and DNA Pro were also deeply involved in last season’s Liga 3 Indonesia. Viral Blast Global had sponsored Liga 3 East Java outfit Mitra Surabaya, while DNA Pro, through the Mr. Cuanisasi banner, had also sponsored Liga 3 Banten side Serpong City as part of the club’s partnership with Borneo. Clubs in the Liga 3 East Java also saw the Mr. Cuanisasi logo emblazoned on their jerseys for their regional matches, before switching to their respective sponsors for their national round matches.