Where in the world is Yusuf Mansur? Dozens of investors are wondering exactly that after the celebrity cleric was MIA when they protested outside his house over an alleged coal investment fraud.
Some 30 people headed to Mansur’s home in Cipondoh, Tangerang yesterday demanding the cleric’s alleged accountability for their investment on a coal mine that never took off. According to one investor, Mansur’s coal mining firm pooled IDR46 billion (US$3.1 million) from around 250 mosque congregants in Cibubur, East Jakarta.
“We went to see him, and he fled. We don’t know where he fled to. According to the police, he’s in Yemen. Another version that I heard is that he fled to Singapore with his family. We don’t know which one is the truth,” Herry Joesoef, a representative for the investors, said yesterday.
Herry added that Mansur once claimed that he had returned the money to one investor on behalf of all investors, but there was no proof to support that claim.
Police said the protest was brief and peaceful, as the investors dispersed from the location upon learning that Mansur was not at home.
Arguably one of Indonesia’s most famous Islamic preachers, the 45-year-old Mansur has been dogged with several investment scandals in the past few years.
In April 2022, he lost his cool in a viral video exclaiming that he is doing all he can to come up with IDR1 trillion to keep his peer-to-peer lending platform/pyramid scheme PayTren afloat. He is facing a lawsuit from PayTren employees over 20 months of unpaid salaries.
His daughter, Wirda Mansur, joined the celebrities launching crypto tokens rush in February with endorsement from the cleric who promised the product would overshoot the moon and head “to the heaven.” The token immediately plunged upon launch, with Mansur then urging holders to keep praying to God.
