An Indonesian businessman identified as Steven is assisting authorities in Singapore and Indonesia regarding an investigation into 34 counterfeit S$10,000 banknotes allegedly used at the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino across three separate visits in June, according to reporting by The Straits Times.
Investigation and Police Collaboration
According to The Straits Times, South Tangerang police chief Superintendent Boy Jumalolo stated that Indonesian investigators held a Zoom meeting on Sept. 14 with representatives of the Singapore Police Force (SPF), including the SPF attaché stationed in Jakarta. The meeting took place at the Indonesian National Police’s International Relations Division. During the discussion, Indonesian officials requested that the SPF issue an official letter confirming that the 34 seized notes from 1973 are counterfeit. Supt. Boy noted that local investigators had previously received only a copy of a seizure receipt describing the bills as “believed to be non genuine.” A spokesperson for the SPF confirmed that a police report was lodged and that inquiries remain ongoing.
Origin of the Banknotes
Yosia Ginting, a Jakarta-based lawyer representing Steven, stated on Sept. 17 that his client is a victim of fraud and had no knowledge that the currency was fake. According to legal counsel, Steven received the banknotes from a man named Anthony, whom an acquaintance named Rangga introduced. At an initial June 8 meeting at a Jakarta café, Anthony handed Steven a single S$10,000 note under the pretext of wanting to exchange it because it was an older series. Yosia stated that Rangga reassured Steven by claiming the note had been checked at an OCBC bank branch in Indonesia and verified as authentic.
Steven flew to Singapore the following day. After a local money changer declined the transaction due to the large denomination, and a bank advised him that he needed to open an account to process the exchange, Steven visited Resorts World Sentosa. There, a VIP host suggested he exchange the bill at the casino. The note was accepted and exchanged for casino chips, according to The Straits Times.
Real Estate Transactions and Subsequent Seizures
Following his return to Jakarta, Anthony met Steven again on June 11 and handed over 33 additional S$10,000 notes, claiming they were an inheritance from his parents, as reported by The Straits Times. Anthony reportedly offered the money as payment toward a shophouse Steven was selling in South Tangerang for 4.5 billion rupiah (S$323,500). When Steven suggested they travel to Singapore together to exchange the large notes, Anthony declined, citing a lack of a passport and pending business in Indonesia.
On June 12, Steven traveled back to Singapore and deposited 27 of the notes into his casino account, leaving six notes at his home in Indonesia. South Tangerang police corroborated this timeline in a July 3 statement. On June 22, Steven used six of the remaining notes in Indonesia as partial payment for a house in Pamulang, Banten province. After the seller’s daughter encountered difficulties attempting to exchange those notes at a Jakarta money changer, Steven traveled to Singapore with his family and the seller’s daughter on June 26, culminating in the police involvement and subsequent seizure of the currency.