Estonian citizen looking at 20-year prison term in Indonesia

TALLINN - The Indonesian police have apprehended a young Estonian man with regard to whom there is reason to suspect that he used a skimming device to steal customer data from an ATM and, if found guilty, he could be facing a prison term of up to 20 years and a large pecuniary penalty, the Indonesian publication Tempo.Co reports. 

Spokesman for the Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police Endra Zulpan said in a press conference that the prosecutor has brought charges under four sections of the law against Sergei Putskov, aged 24.

In addition to the long prison term, the young Estonian man could be facing a fine of up to 10 billion Indonesian rupiahs, or over 65,000 euros.

An ATM skimming device is rigged to the card reader of an ATM machine. The skimmer attachment collects card numbers and PIN codes from the card's magnetic strip, which are then replicated into counterfeit cards. To learn the card's PIN code, a small camera is usually installed near the ATM. Other less frequent methods include the installation of a false PIN pad.

According to the information available to the Indonesian police, Putskov had at least two accomplices who have been declared wanted internationally.

"[One of them has been identified as] Mark, who is an Estonian compatriot of the suspect, and the other owns a Telegram account named Lady Brown," Zulpan explained.

The Jakarta Metro Police spokesman said that the names of the suspects are known to the police and in cooperation with law enforcement agencies abroad, the suspects will soon be brought before a court in Indonesia.