BRI Employees Who 'Rampok' Customer Money Rp5 Billion Sentenced To 6 Years In Prison At Medan District Court

Chief Judge Frans Effendi Manurung (center) read out the verdict attended by the defendant Reza Ananda online, in the Cakra III courtroom, Medan District Court, Thursday (23/1/2025). (ANTARA/Aris Rinaldi Nasution)

The panel of judges at the Medan District Court, North Sumatra, sentenced the defendant Reza Ananda (40), an employee of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) for "robbing" customer money of around Rp. 5 billion.

"Sentenced the defendant Reza Ananda to 6 years in prison," said Chief Judge Frans Effendi Manurung, at the Medan District Court as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, January 23.

The judge believes that the actions of the defendant Reza, who is the Priority Banking Officer of BRI Medan Putri Hijau Branch Office, have been proven to have committed a criminal act, namely making a false record of bookkeeping bank accounts to disburse the money of victims of Barisan Sinaga, as BRI's priority customers from 2017 to 2022.

"The defendant was proven to have violated Article 49 paragraph (1) letter a of Law Number 10 of 1998 has been changed to Law Number 7 of 1992 concerning Banking as the first alternative indictment," said Frans.

In addition to imprisonment, the panel of judges also sentenced the defendant Reza to pay a fine of Rp. 10 billion.

"The defendant was sentenced to pay a fine of Rp. 10 billion. If the fine is not paid, it will be replaced with imprisonment for three months," explained Judge Frans.

After reading the verdict, Chief Judge Frans Effendi Manurung then gave the defendant Reza and the public prosecutor (JPU) of the Belawan Kejari, Medan City, North Sumatra.

"We give the defendant and the prosecutor seven days to state their position whether to appeal or accept this verdict," said Judge Frans.

The decision of the panel of judges at the Medan District Court is lighter than the demands of the Prosecutor's Office, Belawan, who previously demanded that the defendant Reza be imprisoned for 8 years and a fine of Rp. 10 billion, subsidiary to six months in prison.

"Asking the panel of judges to sentence the defendant Reza Ananda to 8 years in prison," said JPU Kejari Belawan Bastian Sihombing at the Medan District Court, Thursday (9/1).

Prosecutor's Office Belawan Bastian Sihombing in the indictment revealed that the defendant Reza falsified documents that harmed the victims of Barisan Sinaga as BRI's priority customers from 2017 to 2022.

"The defendant, who is a priority banking officer at BRI, committed fraud by disbursing investment funds belonging to the victims of Barisan Sinaga without the knowledge of the person concerned," he said.

This act began on August 29, 2017 when Barisan Sinaga bought an insurance product for the Prosperous Investment Fund (Davestera) from BRI Life offered by the defendant Reza.

On October 31, 2017, the defendant Reza created a new account in the name of Barisan Sinaga without the knowledge of the customer, then transferred the insurance funds to the account he had created.

The defendant Reza falsified the documents and processed the disbursement of funds amounting to Rp5,098,500,000.00 into the account he controlled.

On May 24, 2019, the defendant Reza transferred Rp3 billion from Barisan Sinaga's account to someone else's personal account.

In 2021, the defendant offered a new Reksa Dana Optima Excellent Customer product to Barisan Sinaga as a reward for the disbursed insurance products.

"However, the product was proven to be fake and was not registered with the BRI system. In 2022, Barisan Sinaga found out that the remaining funds were only around Rp. 500 thousand with unregistered insurance products," said Public Prosecutor Bastian Sihombing.