Gowa, South Sulawesi. Four defendants went on trial Tuesday for their alleged involvement in a sophisticated money counterfeiting syndicate that operated out of an Islamic university in South Sulawesi.

During the opening session at the Gowa District Court, prosecutors charged the defendants with producing counterfeit Indonesian rupiah banknotes, forged state bonds, and fake foreign currency, including South Korean and Vietnamese bills.

The counterfeit operation was allegedly based in a concealed room within the library of Alauddin State Islamic University (UIN Makassar), located near the provincial capital, Makassar.

The defendants are identified as Andi Ibrahim, a former librarian and current dean of libraries at UIN Makassar; Syahruna; Ambo Ala; and John Billiater Panjaitan.

According to the prosecution, Andi -- who holds a doctoral degree -- is believed to be the ringleader who procured the necessary equipment and materials. Syahruna reportedly oversaw the printing process, while Ambo and John assisted in the production and distribution of the fake currency.

“The defendants used university facilities to conceal and carry out large-scale counterfeiting operations,” Public Prosecutor Sitti Nurdaliah told the court.

Following the hearing, defense attorney Ali Jaya said the defendants declined to submit a preliminary defense. The trial will proceed with witness testimony scheduled for next week.

The syndicate was uncovered in December last year after a series of police raids led to the arrest of 17 suspects, including university staff, civil servants, and employees of state-owned banks.

Police said the counterfeiters used a Chinese-made printing machine purchased in Surabaya for around Rp 600 million ($36,687). The fake banknotes reportedly included UV-reactive watermarks, making them difficult to detect.

Authorities seized a printing press, uncut counterfeit bills, fake state bonds and central bank certificates -- some with purported values in the trillions of rupiah -- as well as paper and various production materials.

Investigators revealed that the group originally began counterfeiting operations in 2010 using a smaller machine at a private residence. The activities were paused in 2014 but resumed in October 2022 after the group acquired a larger machine.

The production of counterfeit currency restarted in May 2024, and the equipment was relocated to the hidden university library room by September.