Sunday, June 6, 2010

Bali real estate: 2 UK nationals arrested for property fraud deal



Khalil Adis
Another property scandal has hit Bali yet again with the arrest of two UK nationals on Christmas eve following a criminal complaint by a Russian investor, reported Radar Bali.

Christopher James Forbes and Angus Knowles Jackson were arrested after Dmitry Chernikov lodged a complaint against them alleging malfeasance in the handling of funds for the purchase of land on Balangan Beach, Bukit Jimbaran in South Bali.

Also reportedly listed in the complaint was the Commissioner of Asian Estate Investment, Agus Setiawan Waworuntu, an Indonesian national.

The attorney for Forbes and Jackson, Reza Akbar Maya Poetra, was reported as saying that Chenikov had transferred Rp. 2 billion to Waworuntu´s account at Bank Permata as the downpayment for the purchase of the said land.

However, Chernikov subsequently cancelled the transaction and asked for his money to be returned which Waoruntu did not.

In another media report, Den Post reported that the attorney for Chernikov, Mochmad Sukedi, claims that Chernikov did not cancel the said land purchase.

Instead, Chernikov has discovered that the land offered to him by Asian Estate Investments was not for sale and in fact owned by the Indonesian Department of Finance.

“After I checked, it was revealed that the land was government owned. They were selling ‘fictional’ property,” Sukedi told Den Post.

Sukedi also rejected claims by Forbes that he was not involved in the fraud as Forbes and Waworuntu had offered land for sale when they were not in a position to do so and there was no such land available.

Indonesian law specifically prohibits the purchase of land by foreign national.

However, many website and property companies in Bali offer property and "freehold" land for sale to aliens using legally contravening nominee structures.

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