The Infamous Leader of Indonesia's Debt Forgiveness Cult
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2018
- With inequality growing exponentially over the past decades, people around the world have assumed massive debts. In Indonesia, a mysterious cult with the impressive name Swissindo World Trust International Orbit has attracted a global following for its promise to magically make one's debts go away.
The group is led by Soegihartonotonegoro, a charismatic leader who calls himself M1, and presents himself as a godlike figure who can erase the world’s debt due to a seemingly limitless ancient inheritance. To find out the truth behind this bizarre story, VICE Indonesia correspondent Arzia traveled to visit the Swissindo Headquarters in Cirebon, Indonesia, and interviewed M1, and his followers.
We also met with the manager of a local bank that had been targeted by Swissindo for its debt services, and a client of Swissindo's whose experience with the group was not exactly as anticipated.
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The group is led by Soegihartonotonegoro, a charismatic leader who calls himself M1, and presents himself as a godlike figure who can erase the world’s debt due to a seemingly limitless ancient inheritance.
WATCH NEXT: The Nightmare World of Gang Stalking - vice.video/2EOLvJt
VICE i got some story for vice with proof
VICE Do you have a vice offices in Detroit. . because I could be a huge asset to the company either in Detroit or any United States Urban City.
lancesamals I'm not going to argue with you because I know you're not going to change your mind so I suggest you live in West Papua for 10 years and then I'll ask your opinion about West Papua again.
LOL this is too funny.
VICE Didn’t any of them realize that if you gave everyone in the world $6 million, the value of the dollar will drop and $6 million will essentially be worthless because, “everyone has it”. How much would you have to pay someone to cut your grass if everyone had $6 million. There has to be a separation of classes in society, some people live in comfort, some people do the dirty work. This SKew in lifestyle is a natural balance. The accumulation of great wealth is merely a side effect of any Currency based monetary system. Of course, I’m a capitalist/libertarian, and I know most vice readers are democratic Anarchists/socialists. But competition and wit go along way in society, even in societies that try to prevent it.
Has 1 QUINTILION USD requires 75 bucks payment for processing fee.... *SEEMS LEGIT*
FathomLordkara hahaha this.
The woman obviously a hired white actress. IRS don’t call you if you have taxes to pay. You are either notified through sent mail or someone knocking on your door. Phone calls are most obvious scam
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He was that dude who called her while impersonating the IRS lolol
It’s Indonesian money. 10 million Rupiah is 600 USD
So basically I send him 400$ and he wipes all my debt away with his secret ancient fortune. Seems legit.
david sandlin Don't worry, he's the long lost brother of a deposed Nigerian prince with an extensive cache of gold he needs to get into the country, for the low, low price of $400!
Turpentine Daydreams yeah. I already paypaled him the money to pay customs. I should be loaded within 7-10 business days.
You lose a debt but get a new one for 400 dollars!
Good bargain even if the new debt is only $400
I dont think people follow some random dude for fun. It is probably like that movie where some guy his wife gets raped and the man is approached by a stranger who will ask if he wants justice. One condition, if the man says yes than there will be a chance in the future he needs to forfill something for them to get even..
"Later, we discovered that M1 was really Satoshi Nakamoto." Now that would be a good plot twist.
Rupert Murdoch funds this channel, professional liar, no one has been asked for money utter Murdoch lies by vice propaganda. The low budget film is fake journalists hired by murdochs dirty money haha many fools believing this media. God bless humanity you deserve freedom from slave trade.
That "minister of love" woman is bat shit crazy. I feel bad for people that get caught up in scams like this. If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
Jeff Tolton yeah
Jeff Tolton i don't feel sorry for her at all.
The women is living a lie. They use her to make their group look goog. she’s going to find out one day that she is helping to ruin lives,
Maybe they'll cut her head off if she tells the truth and is a prisoner.
She's with the CIA
This quote never is more relevant than this vid: “In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king”
did you (mis)quote that from a tom waits song?
Void Dota 2
Such downward preposterous quote!
Obviously those blind people would've asked first for the proof of such functionality of the eye from that one-eyed person prior making him their superior (namely, their king). But how could they acquire such knowledge for they themselves are blind. Such paradoxical utterance is a blatant display of sheer imbecility.
Winstan Love this quote
Ahmad Ahmad wow buddy.. learn to live a little.
Holy shit its work .
IRS never contacted me since i move to indonesia .
and didn't tell them where I am
fuck I just moved a couple hrs up north and started shooting everyone who come into my section of the woods.... no one has talked to me since!
Hahaha thank you sir
LOL, Abinta, I usually don't bother commenting/replying on videos anymore, but thanks for the laugh :)
Renji Khan indonesias a great country.. have u been there?
So he 'removes' their financial debt, only for them to be in debt to him. Ironic
I dont know the scheme, i dont know why the video sayd "piramid scheme". Probably is more like you say.
"$6,000,000 for every man woman and child" talk about some hyperinflation
Come to my mansion in Zimbabwe, I'm handing out 100 trillion dollar notes!
Sooo trueeee
That’s not 6 million dollars. That’s 6 million rupiah. About 400 USD
@@klord3677 400 dollars? Yikes 🥴
Nuclear? Why waste time creating nuclear weapons if they're not being used?.
That's one particular way of thinking
Sergio that guy have balls
"IRS didn't contact me again" That's not a good thing...
You just know there is an arrest warrant out for her.
She send them her birth certificate. M1 forged a death certificate for her in America. Her tax debts got erased! Outstanding modern problems require outstanding moves.
I’ve lost my faith in humanity; liberal or conservative, it doesn’t matter, ignorance outweighs us all. We are at the age of information but misinformation still wins. How can those of us with a clear vision stay sane anymore?
Like TABLOIDS. Nobody even pays for them. Who would? And why. They remain on every shelf. They should be outlawed. From stores And the web. Sounds like false advertisment but might not make the criteria. Some loophole established.
Read the book "industrial society and its future
WTF!?
I've been living in Indonesia and I never knew this Shit. Oh my poor Country, May God Help Us..
The IRS was treating you like a criminal because you didn't pay taxes which is a criminal offence. This lady... 😂😂😂
"We have enough money to pay off your debt and give everybody $6 million. Just pay us an administration fee of $75." Lol what?
Kyle Young Maybe they meant Indonesian dollars. 6 million Indonesian dollars is about 440 USD.
chamcham123 rupiah dude
OMG, I've actually heard about this cult from my ex's father many years ago. It's weird to watch them here on Vice, and in English.
Django bango no doubt hey, made his "riches" from 75$ a person lmao
ikr...
Hold up, there's no ex-father dude. Did you mean stepfather?
@@farhanrizqulah He said ex's father, meaning the father of his ex wife/girlfriend.
"The IRS was bullying me! I felt like a criminal!"
Yes. Because you are. You essentially stole thousands of Dollars by not paying back your debts.
Ofc you shouldn't pay back why should you the fed creates fiat currency out of thin air sells it to the us gov. At a high intrest rate and so on... Why should you pay for something thats infinite 😂 as long as they can print.... No problem
John Kapwn show me the law that says you have to pay taxes on wages.
because the money is a way to get people's time and work so you basically stole other peoples time you dumass.
Young Gun but money is printed out of thin air it has no value at all 😂
Don`t talk about the President that way..he`s SMART, not a tax avoiding thief...golly gee...
This reminds me of a south park joke.
Jaison Abraham
Lol that would be a perfect south park episode
Exactly!
Yeah lol same here
ANDDD ITS GONE
soon he faint in exhaustion for paying many debts like kyle lol
This is the guy who has been emailing you about his inheritance that he wishes to share with you. He has moved from Nigeria to Indonesia. He is totally trustworthy.
Lol yeah let’s let him hold onto our wallets
Gooood evening Madame! There is a pigeon trapped inside your bank account, so I just need your bank details and sort code, so we can open the bank account, let out the pigeorn, take out the monies, CLEAN and DRY the monies, press the money notes flat and crispy and put all the monies back in your bank account. So, I jos need your bank account details and your sort code... It is totally innocent, Madaam, but we just need your détails so we can let out the pigeorn and clean up the mess it has made, clean up your monies and put it back in again....
Hello? Madame ?...
"First off, humans must be freed from debt" , to a certain degree its agreeable but also very dangerous and abusable. People can go out and max out all their credit cards and never have it be paid
sweet sound good to me
If you only knew whats going on in the banking industry, you would agree with that statement.
that "Prime minister of love" was on drugs..!!
He should stop bogarting it, that's clearly some good shit!
Avi h not in Duterte’s Indonesia
Seems like it
Swissindo reminds me of Jim Jones.
reminds me of Swiss (like the banks) and Swindle.
Indonesia is debitor heaven who want to avoid debt collector, just pick 1 of 17.000+ island & blend in with nature and local community, you wil completely disappear. Debt problem is solved
Rocky Do . Yup, Jim was worse but they both have that holier than thou attitude with crazed eyes.
Yes! I know it was my first gut wrenching impression!
mysingalongsong Jim Jones become state and suicide mission...
I wonder what kind of Kool-Aid flavors they have in Indonesia?
Exactly.
Oddly enough they don't have Kool-Aid
MSG
Nope, we don't have kool-aid, we got nutri-sari
rendang
This reminded me of a story over here in Germany: some guy created "Kingdom Germany" few years ago and even held a ceremory to let himself crown as it's King. He owned some land and gathered followeres around him with promises of jobs, houses and indendency. Lots joined his cult, many of those had debts in Germany and claimed Germany as county doesn't exist, therefor they don't have to pay their debts LOL !
Long story short, he even created his own driver licencense, passports and money. But when he created his own bank and took money from people in exchange for his fantasy money, it didn't took long to take him to prison.
These cults are based on fantasy and false promises, never last long.
Fascinating how creative people can get to scam others
i'm from indonesia, this cult is a fraud, police should take them to jail.
He went from.. " We will cover your debts...." to....."Nuclear war"......im dying xD
VICE reporters are heroes. This kind of reporting requires some serious balls, and they manage to get into a sketchy, dangerous group, speak with its members, stay neutral and get out safely. These guys seem like a narcissist/sociopath, who is obviously just scamming people to be loved by them. He talks about starting a war, and these people just stand behind him like it's all fine.
That was intense. Great work the video, Vice!
Another great documentary vice!!
I wish this was a more in depth documentary. I also wish you guys had contacted the irs and found that that woman's debt is probably still outstanding and had blown her mind when she found out she still owed the irs money. cults are a hell of a drug.
This is Vice at its best.
They got those around here too. They’re called churches.
Million Million good one
Around where
hahaha nice one, but churches definitely don't clear your debt
Sage Akporherhe Neither does this one, that's the joke.
Religion is outdated
That some weird as shit
I admire how the reporter was able to keep a straight face throughout this piece. I would be laughing at everything they said.
That reaction at 9:09 is perfect
She was a very good reporter. Asking the tough questions in an unfamiliar place.
great show
Old cult members have their debt paid by the new members what's new?
Eddie Alvarez mormons did it better. They recruited educated machinists and company owners for their group. Then combined assets to get loans to make lumber cutting and lumber mills companies as well as construction and transport. They were leveraging their members credit to build a corporation that was actually turning profit.
just pay your bills and don't get things you can't afford...
It isn't always that simple, but yes it is a good mentality to live by.
Fabulous anchoring
Interesting stuff
Here's an option
DONT GO INTO DEBT
Only live the life you can afford
The logo, promotional materials and vibe remind me of Scientology.
The spillover effect of members bullying debt collectors on their own and possibly renegotiating their debts is the most interesting thing to me, even if this is a textbook pyramid scheme. Just getting people to rethink their relationship with their debts is a big deal.
Very interesting
I would like to add an experience here regarding this Swissindo which happened to an Ecuadorian. There was one person from Babahoyo, Ecuador, he was tied by debt around 2000 USD (Ecuador use USD as national currency) and then one of his friend suggested him to access Swissindo website to find a solution for his debt. So he opened the website, then that website told him to pay 1500 USD. He unconsciously desperately find that money then pay to the bank account which the website told him so. Then boom... he got fraud and report to Indonesia embassy for solution.
So let me get this straight? He was in debt for $2000 USD, somehow managed to find $1500 USD, and gave the money to Swissindo instead of negotiating the debt?
What if we stopped borrowing? And learn a bit of accounting. Don't ask yourself how much money I need to live like Kim K or Kanye, but how can i live with what i have.
More Ramen and less Gucci
But the IRS doesn't call you
Tips for anyone with chronic debt problem:
1. Go to Indonesia with short notice
2. Just pick 1 of 17,000+ island for stay
3. Blend in with nature & local community
Walla, you completely disappear & debt problem is solve
(complete nightmare for debt collector)
Good exposè
So this is South park lol
Okaaayyy, I need some help with my debt, Mr. Debt Cult!
Butter Pecan This is very, progressive!
I need this ASAP ! Lol
Who doesn't..
Man, me too! Hook me up.
pay it off. A lso learn how interest works.
The woman at around 2:20 (Kimari Teter) reminds me a lot of Dennis Hopman's character in Apocalypse Now.
Vice, welcome to Indonesia
PYRAMID SCHEME?
ye, they should have explained how the scheme worked. I have more questions now.
Exactly! Are the members paying into this?
MGiordano $75 administrative fee weren't u watching lol :p
Katie But montly? because thats how the pyramid scheme works.
I didn't see that part, I must have blinked!
The calls never stop coming for that crazy woman she just moved to a country without telephones
James Kellum We do have cellphones here, it’s just that the IRS has no jurisdiction here.
we already have phone connection since 1900s............
It's likely just a made up story. Just your average con artist. Convincing? Ofc, a decent con artist should be convincing.
IT'S MY COUNTRY
Vice Indonesia correspondent is SOO beautiful. Good god.
You guys should get a Tv or news company cuz you guys are working hard
Cult of personality??? Who remembers that song lol
I wanna learn about the alien connection to M1's benevolence. LOL
Amazing
Such a great empath the journalist.
The biggest problem with the world right now is the rise in debt dependency. In the US alone credit rating is important for a lot of things like house mortgage. This is forcing people who don't want debt or too dumb to manage money to buy stuff with credit. One stumble and they will live with big debt in their life and possibly falling for this kind of cult.
What he said at the beginning is essentially true, but his appeal to stop injustice, slavery, alienation due to money, isn't really about dept, but usury and interest slavery. They don't seem to know about Marx, or economics, or that the human cost of money is an old problem which spans human history. This documentary is focusing on the wrong stuff, choosing to explore the obviously fraudulent proof they present, which isn't worth investigating. Those claims are irrelevant a priori, even if we accept some points, most of which either don't follow, or fail to make sense within the logic of their own system. If we take this "paper trail" so seriously, something that could easily be mistaken for parody, we are actually directing attention away from the tragic reality these people inhabit, and what's really going on. This kind of just fans the flames--not so much an exposé. The approach just seems off, and has a serious tone which grants a kind of respect to the cult.
Well, the video is assuming you can tell by yourself how dumb the group is.
It's also not the video to speak Marx if it's trying to be periodism.
@13:10 Way to loop it back to "Global Capitalism." I was genuinely NOT expecting that flawless transition. 🙄
This is not the only proud Indo that has a story about a bloodline going back to a king or sultan. Typically, cause I hear this a lot in the Dutch Indonesian communit.
seems legit...
I am from Cirebon and never heard about this. :O
There is many yet to be unravelled, Vice has not yet made a complete cover on this subject matter
*At $21 trillion, U.S. will need magic to make the national debt go away.*
Savoir Faire how does that work? I mean how would the US pay that?
China will eventually own us
Savoir Faire and this man is the answer for US people, not Trump.
After that ladies $10k was “paid for” why not follow this gangsta lol
BTC Kelz you know he had a piece of that cheese cake 🍰
BTC Kelz cause she was a gold digger.
"The IRS kept calling me asking for money!" The IRS will send out letters they don't call you asking for money.
That journalist has the best poker face
Just me or does this sound like a big pyramid scheme, pay me 500$ or 400$ or whatever it is and il get rid of your debt
Is this for real??..
Jimmy ????..
Yep, a real scammer. Not a rare example nowadays..
Painter no, it's CGI
Painter yeah real stupid.
+Painter Yes this is real if you mean the news. And No is not real if you think you can make disappear your debt thanks to that scammer
Swissindo is doing amazing things and great work by saving people from the savage banks
@vice please use spoken word translation. I cannot read the screen. Like many people I have poor vision. Just have someone read the captions please. I'm a fan.
NOW HE'S IN PRISON LMAO 😂
Wheres my 6mill at then
Wow never realized how interesting this language sounds like.
This is like the personal development industry. Solve your problems by thinking positively.
He know dae wae
Ebola
Bitconnect is also founded by an Indonesian just to show the nature of this scammers
Bitconneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeect!!!!!!!!
Yassin Sabbour Wait really?
Did you really just blame a whole ethnicity for a couple of scammers? Wtf is wrong with you? Lol
Yep, explains why White people are blood thirsty, toucheee :)
Who?
what is that song in the opening, the opera song. ?????
Everyday you learn something new.
what???????
BITCONEEEEEECT!!!!!
That's the question
Sounds like a Metal Gear plot
I don't why I like vice but I like vice very very much.
It is so sad to see the people in the video thought about the journalist was a nice girl and harmless but actually she was filming them in order to criticize them and their country.
yeah mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm bs
thanks for the business idea btw...will try this in my country...
jk hehe
we are glad to hear your message.sir could please a application form on our website www.notthefakepeople.com and sir we will need all of your bank account and numbers etc. and we would like you to donate around $1000 to some african kids..thank you hope to see your reply .
your not fake cult leader
I remember when I first meet M1, it was back in the days ; in Alcatraz.
part 2?
Can he paid for the Trump wall?
jorge hdz Someone must introduced this man to Trump
I'd fund a soundproof wall to be put around trump. Okay its a padded cell.
jorge hdz it's not a debt, and do you think Trump want to get help from some random guy in a third world country?
Faizal F Well my country Mexico is a third world country and he is asking to us to pay for the wall.
jorge hdz pay**
If americans can believe in Donald Trump and vote as the president of United States of America....then why shouldn't I believe he is cure for cancer and can pay all debts of world 😂😂😂
akshay yadav Since you are a bigger idiot than an average American.
akshay yadav your stupid if your comparing Donald trump to this guy..... Donald trump isn’t no worse than the majority of the worlds leaders and probably smarter than most of them..., and I’m not a trump supporter
Just for your info, Trump just proposed to arm teachers at schools so they can fight back during school shooting.
I really wish they put subtitles :/
Does he do Home Loans? or do I need to complete forms for that?
I swear to god, after i left indonesia all the shit thats happening there has been unreal Lmao. and this is coming from an indonesian.
Shouganai really? What the kind of shit do u mean? Can u mention it one by one?
pretty much everything going on the news.
Indonesian here, can vouch for what Shouganai said.
Yes Shouganai. I'm curious too. Can you please mention it one by one?
Why would i need to mention it when u can just search it, its common sense here bud.
Repo Man: Let’s go get sushi and not pay.
Maybe this M1 guy should serve in the White House.
BTW the line “screwed by global capitalism” is what a fifth grader would say.
Stay ignorant because it leads to happiness
What a genius 5th grader
Maybe most 5th graders have common sense and can see things that are obvious.
Yes, she just some liberal socialist
I’m an Indonesian, I have never heard this growing up. This is totally scams and people are so gullible to believe this nonsense.
bangga sama mbak arzia