DENPASAR – The legal counsel for British investor Nicholas John Hyam, Joao Meco, SH, has officially filed a police report against Reinta Situmorang over alleged fraud and embezzlement in a land transaction covering 2.82 hectares in Pererenan, Badung. The report has been registered under STTLP/456/VII/2025/SPKT/POLDA BALI.
The dispute dates back to 2006, when Hyam invested IDR 37.5 billion to purchase land in Pererenan and establish a Foreign Investment Company (PMA). He appointed lawyer Rizaldy Watruty to handle both the PMA establishment and the land purchase process.
However, according to Joao Meco, Watruty colluded with Reinta Situmorang, the land seller, to misuse the investment funds. A false statement was reportedly made to a notary claiming that the funds were never transferred, despite nine land certificates having been fully paid for by Hyam. To date, those certificates have never been handed over.
Watruty was eventually imprisoned over the case before passing away. Meanwhile, Reinta Situmorang allegedly retained control over both the land and the investment funds, using the services of convicted land mafia figure Hadi Setiawan to maintain control without returning the funds or processing the legal ownership through the PMA.
Chronology of Events
-
2006 – Hyam invests IDR 37.5 billion to acquire 2.82 hectares of land in Pererenan and establish a PMA.
-
2006–2007 – Watruty and Reinta allegedly collude, misuse funds, and withhold land certificates.
-
Following years – Watruty is imprisoned and later dies; Reinta continues to control the land.
-
~16 years later – The land’s value has risen sharply, but Hyam’s ownership rights remain unrecognized.
Alleged Immigration Harassment
Hyam also claims to have faced repeated harassment from Indonesian immigration authorities since the land dispute began. He alleges he was arrested three times in Jakarta, most recently in September 2019, including once at an airport after his passport had been stamped and he was in the international zone.
According to Hyam, these actions were part of a coordinated effort by Reinta Situmorang and Hadi Setiawan to have him deported so he could not attend court proceedings or pursue his land claim.
In May 2023, Hyam returned to Indonesia after being promised assistance by former government official Idrus Marham. Instead of helping, Marham allegedly advised him to “give up” and relinquish his assets. Soon after, Hyam says he was arrested by five immigration officers, handcuffed, and forcibly removed from the country.
Joao Meco stressed that this police report is a firm legal step to demand the return of his client’s rightful assets, both the funds and the land at the center of the dispute.***
