Indonesia jails 35 Indian nationals over Bali online gambling operation
Police estimated that the network generated up to 8bn rupiah (US$446,682) a month.
Indonesia.- An Indonesian court has sentenced 35 Indian nationals to between two and two-and-a-half years in prison for their roles in an online gambling operation on the island of Bali. The Denpasar District Court handed down the sentences on October 7, after finding all 35 defendants guilty of gambling offences under Article 426(1)(a) of Indonesia’s Criminal Code, as amended by legislation on criminal adjustments.
While 33 defendants were sentenced to two years each, Piyush Sharma and Yash Raj Singh Gaur, who were identified by prosecutors as key figures in the operation, received the longer terms. The sentences were shorter than those requested by the state counsel, which had sought five years for Sharma and Gaur and four years for the remaining defendants.
According to the indictment, Sharma acted as an operational coordinator, arranging equipment and internet access and allocating work to operators. Gaur was described as an administrator involved in promoting the gambling website through social media.
The case followed police raids on two villas in Tibubeneng, Badung, and Cepaka, Tabanan, in February. The raids resulted in 39 arrests, although only 35 of those detained were eventually prosecuted.
The defendants’ lawyers had argued during the proceedings that some of the accused were victims of human trafficking. The court took the claim into account as part of its deliberations but ultimately convicted all 35 on the gambling charges.
In determining the sentences, the judges took into account the defendants’ clean criminal records, expressions of remorse and promises not to reoffend but described the operation as part of transnational crime and counter to Indonesia’s efforts to combat gambling. Police said the network generated as much as 8bn rupiah (US$446,682) a month.
The court ordered that time already spent in custody be counted towards the sentences. It also ruled that the defendants could be deported after completing their prison terms and barred from returning to Indonesia.
