It is abundantly clear that any person and / or company that invests in Indonesia is going to be targeted on a very regular basis for extortion money through fraud and corruption; more so than Indonesians and / or Indonesian businesses / companies. Understand that competitors in Indonesia have better connections than foreign investors, and easy access to corrupt police officers who routinely work outside the law (unlawfully) with the equally corrupt Indonesian judiciary to make life very difficult for you even when you have done absolutely nothing wrong; people often end up in jail and / or have their businesses closed down for no legitimate reason, simply at the bequest of a competitor. If you as a foreigner or your foreign / overseas company want to invest in Indonesia, you would be well advised to;

a) Think very carefully about putting your money in Indonesia, as once it is in, getting it out is very difficult, and once you have invested, you are a corruption target and stuck.
b) Allow a lot of extra money for paying off corrupt officials, perhaps whatever your investment is all over again. That is, for every dollar you are investing / using, you should reserve another dollar for paying off corrupt policemen, prosecutors, judges and other government officials just to keep your business open.
c) Avoid living there with your family to protect yourself and them.

Transparency International ranks Indonesia as one of, if not the most corrupt countries in the world. Some say "There is corruption everywhere!" But not like and to the scale of Indonesia (read our resource page: World Corruption), it is like saying fevers exist everywhere while comparing bubonic plague to a common cold.

Do not think you as an investor could be exempt from investment problems; no-one is except the powerful “upper class” (wealthy, military linked) families of Indonesia such as the Suharto’s of course. Recently a failed libel action brought by British arms manufacturer Alvis PLC (allegedly with British Government support) against the British newspaper The Guardian to try and stop the newspaper from publishing a story showed just how bad corruption is in Indonesia, even when major corporations are involved in contracts which the Indonesian Government themselves initiated. Alvis PLC lost the libel action and The Guardian revealed a shocking story regarding the sale of Scorpion tanks to Indonesia which shows just how endemic corruption is in there and how nasty it gets;

1) The president of Indonesia wanted new tanks because he thought their existing ones looked outdated (although operationally they were not) and buying new ones was actually a way he, his family and friends could make corruption money (extortion).
2) The tanks were not needed for true military use; they were controversially used to put down rebel uprisings in Indonesia (and kill innocent civilians).
3) In order to make corruption money the Indonesian military insisted the sale of Scorpion tanks had to go through agents; these agents were actually members of the president’s family and of the army generals.
4) Finally, in order to actually get paid for the tanks, Alvis PLC had to pay a relative of the president a hefty “funds release fee” commission as "payment agent".

That means of course three things, apart from the human tragedy part. First is that the Indonesian people bought something they did not need and at inflated prices (to cover the cost of corruption pay-offs when the country desperately needed money for education and health) so that bent politicians and army personnel could make some money. Secondly that even the likes of Alvis and probably with them the British Government were involved and participated in corruption from the start. Lastly, Alvis did not make as much money as they thought they would as they ended up having to pay to get their money out of Indonesia.

You see no-one, absolutely no-one is exempt. So when you are calculating how much money you need in order to do what it is you are interested in, double it. Also if your potential Indonesian investment is a matter of the heart, think twice, think thrice, thinks many times as you will likely soon lose your love for whatever it is you are contemplating once corrupt police officers come round conducting an investigation against you for some preposterous alleged “crime” complaint made by a competitor, or someone with a grudge against you; where they abuse Indonesia’s nasty and often ambiguous criminal codes to point out that you are in serious trouble and need “friends”. Of course, once you have put your hand in your bank balance for you new found friends you will need to do it again and again. Never forget there is substantial and substantiated proof the Indonesian police routinely plant evidence, plus collude with prosecutors and judges who ignore and misinterpret both the facts and even protective laws.

Dwell on the fact Indonesian police officers have a nasty habit of serving police summons when you can not attend or otherwise unlawfully so to someone only remotely connected with your business who then fails to inform you (so you never hear about the summons), and that ignoring a police summons gives the mafia police of Indonesia a license to jail you for up to 60 days without charge. Understand therefore that it is very easy for someone who has a grudge against you to close down any business you operate and have you jailed for no legitimate reason. And that it is equally easy for the police and other government officials to extort money from you. Be aware the best you can hope for in such circumstances is a judge with some conscience, but understand these rare animals will undoubtedly call you into their private chambers before they make a ruling and tell you “I think you are innocent but I need some money from you in order to rule in your favour.”; you simply can not win. Understand the Indonesian mafia police and judiciary only answer to the nasty wealthy families of Indonesia and operate solely to ensure people with less power do not cause problems for people with greater power, period.

Related pages;
Forget reporting corruption to the Indonesian Corruption Reduction Commission, they are frauds who investigate fraud not corruption cases (see: Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi)

Please do not invest money in Indonesia. Indonesian investments simply mean extra money for corrupt officials who commit civil and human rights abuses, plus heartbreak and perhaps major losses or even insolvency for you.
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