Never mind! Already Know Illegal, Trading Robot Agent Still Selling

Kilatmedia.com – Never mind! Already Know Illegal, Trading Robot Agent Still Selling In addition to fraudulent investment cases involving binary options platforms, the fraudulent scandal of trading robots in foreign exchange (FX) trading is also being widely discussed.

In simple terms, a trading robot is an algorithm designed to simplify forex trading activities where the robots are the ones who execute the buying and selling of currency pairs.

However, in a country with low public financial literacy, such as Indonesia, the existence of trading robots is often misplaced. Robots that are supposed to help buying and selling financial instruments have even become a trigger for fraudsters to plunder customers’ money. Domestically, trading robots for forex are increasingly widespread. Indeed, there are no rules that prohibit the use of trading robots or what is known as “Expert Advisor”.

Trading robots to be legal in Indonesia must of course get permission from the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (CoFTRA) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK) for trading activities. Until now there has been no trading robot permit issued by CoFTRA.

“Due to the widespread news that trading robot companies have obtained permits or are applying for permits from CoFTRA, until now CoFTRA has never issued business licenses to any trading robot companies,” said CoFTRA in its official explanation, quoted on Monday (7/2/2022). In addition to being sold without permission or without legality, trading robot sales schemes in some cases also use pyramid or ponzi schemes.

Instead of the product being sold, in many cases it is the system that is being sold. This means that what is offered to potential customers is membership.

Everyone who manages to recruit new members will get a commission. Not infrequently those who are keen to pursue commissions, trick victims by lure of high returns that are fixed, even though in investment, there is still risk and nothing is 100% certain.

This is what makes many people deceived by trading robots because what is highlighted is not the product but the guaranteed money that is promised.

The trading robot scandal that caught the public’s attention, one of which was Sunton Capital – there is no license in Indonesia – which brought customers’ money up to billions of rupiah last October 2021.

Sunton Capital is said to be luring a fairly large profit, in the range of 5% to 20%, by using trading robots.

After Sunton Capital, now it’s the turn of an illegal trading robot called Evotrade. This time the person was arrested by the authorities. At the end of last January, the police named 6 suspects for the alleged fraud of a trading robot named Evotrade and confiscated money worth Rp. 12.5 billion as evidence.

In addition to confiscate money worth Rp 12.5 billion, the police also blocked an account worth an additional Rp 75 billion. The perpetrators had fled and held DPO status until they were finally arrested.

The case involving PT Evolution Perkasa Group actually sells trading robots without a permit, even in making sales using a ponzi scheme (member get member).

Furthermore, at the end of January, the government through the Ministry of Trade also gave firm action to PT DNA Pro Akademi on the findings that the company had carried out business activities selling expert advisors/robot trading using the MLM system on the basis of legality that had not been effectively applied, verified, or did not have direct selling business license. There is also a forex scam that is said to have occurred in Gorontalo, with almost one village or as much as 95% of the total population said to have been scammed. This infuriated the Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Rachmat Gobel, who finally asked the Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi about this case.

Regarding the complaint, the Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi did not dismiss the difficulty of suppressing the practice. Because, companies or providers of gambling platforms like this move in a gray area.

“They walk alone in the middle, permitting a computer school but collecting public funds. MLM uses funds with money, that’s called Ponzi, it’s a crime, arrest all of them, that’s over,” explained Lutfi.

Although the Minister of Trade has loudly called for all those who commit fraud under the guise of investment to be arrested, this does not frighten those who run the ponzi scheme business in the field.

Based on a recent CNBC Indonesia search, actors who offer investments that are actually ponzi schemes are quite easy to find, be it from advertisements or social media groups.

The CNBC Indonesia team tried to contact one of the selling agents from a trading robot service provider who was included in the list of illegal investments closed by the Investment Alert Task Force (SWI), namely the Pansaka Trading Robot (Auto Trade Gold).

Even though he said it had been closed, it turned out that sales agents were still around offering products to target potential new members. When asked about the legality, the seller said that “the only way is 6D. Register, deposit, shut up, sit down and get dollars.”

Furthermore, the CNBC Indonesia team tried to emphasize the legality, he tried to convince his prospects with the justification that he could be subject to the ITE Law, if he spread posts that were not true.

The sales agent also stated that he had “fairly” many members and stated that the minimum investment was US$ 110 or equivalent to Rp. 1.68 million. This is because the company has set a fixed exchange rate for balance replenishment of Rp. 15,000/US$ and for withdrawal of US$ 14,000/US$.

Interestingly, he said that “the purchase of a robot is already a package with a health drink product.”

He also continued to send brochures containing five levels of packages that can be ordered, where each level has a different maximum limit of funds that can be accommodated, including health drinks, namely “Gluberry and Greenshake” which are also different.

In the brochure it is also written that 100% profit will be given to investors with compound returns.

It seems that the government’s efforts to eradicate fraudulent investment have not really been proven effective. It is evident that other platforms such as Binomo, which have been blocked back and forth, have re-emerged like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

This is partly because the rise of these illegal platforms is helped by endorsements by influencers from various social media including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. They are milling about freely giving recommendations for fraudulent investments or gambling whose existence is clearly illegal in Indonesia.

In addition, advertisements for companies that offer fraudulent investments are also very easy to find and circulate massively on various social media platforms, making efforts to eradicate fraud under the guise of fraudulent investments increasingly a formidable challenge.

With the increasing number of cases of trading robot fraud, people must be more careful. If offered, first make sure the legality and what the product looks like. If the seller offers a definite return and membership, it can be ascertained that the product being sold is not a trading robot but a fraud.