Indonesia: Task force closes unlicensed 162 fintech, 47 investment entities

• Mar 15, 2019

The Investment Alert Task Force has closed a further 168 financial technology (fintech) or peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms and 47 investment entities that are not registered with the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

With the latest move, the task force, which is supported by 13 ministries and other institutions, has now closed 803 unlicensed fintech firms – 404 in 2018 and 399 from January to March.

Task force head Tongam Lumban Tobing said the closure of the entities was a result of scrutiny of the P2P lending websites and Google Playstore.

The task force also stopped the activities of 47 entities that were suspected of conducting illegal investments, he said in Jakarta on Wednesday, adding that the entities ran businesses on multilevel marketing, cryptomoney investment and futures brokerage, among other activities.

Tongam said the offers of illegal investments threatened people’s welfare. “The businesses exploit a lack of people’s understanding of the investment in their illegal activities and offer high returns,” Tongam said as quoted by kontan.co.id.

He called on people to be more careful in selecting institutions for investment. “Don’t be carried away by the offer of high returns without considering the risk,” he added.

Tongam identified three elements for safe investment, first, the party that offers the investment should be licensed by an authorized institution, second, the products should also be licensed and third, the stamp of the entity and the relevant government institution should appear on the media offering the service.

To get the necessary information, potential investors should visit the Investor Alert Portal at sikapiuangmu.ojk.go.id, he said, and can report suspected investment offers to the OJK at Box 157 or email [email protected] or [email protected]. (bbn)

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/03/15/task-force-closes-unlicensed-162-fintech-47-investment-entities.html