Indonesian Couple Arrested Over Suspected Unlicensed 'Underground Bank,' Allegedly Transferred 1 Billion Yen
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In June 2026, Saitama Prefectural Police arrested an Indonesian husband (42) and wife (33) living in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, on suspicion of violating the Banking Act by running an unlicensed money exchange business — a so-called "underground bank" — that received cash from multiple clients and transferred it to designated accounts in Indonesia without government authorization. The alleged offenses are said to have taken place from around June 2023 to June 2025.
Transfers confirmed so far number eight, totaling just over 890,000 yen, but police believe the total amount transferred reaches as much as 1 billion yen and are working to establish the full scope of the operation. The large gap between the confirmed amount and the estimated total will be a focus of the ongoing investigation. Current status: The suspects have been arrested; whether they will be indicted has not been disclosed as of this writing.
Under the Banking Act, conducting money exchange operations requires a license or registration from the Prime Minister, and operating such a business without authorization — a so-called "underground bank" — constitutes a violation of the law. These operations reportedly find users within resident foreign communities because they tend to charge lower fees for overseas transfers than licensed banks and require only minimal identity verification.
Similar underground banking cases include one involving Chinese nationals allegedly exchanging proceeds from special fraud schemes into Chinese yuan (related coverage), suggesting that unauthorized money transfer services may exist across multiple nationalities.