Jakarta. The Jakarta Police have arrested twin sisters, Rihana and Rihani, who are accused of offering fraudulent investments in iPhone distribution and stealing tens of billions of rupiah from their victims, an officer said on Tuesday. 

The sisters were apprehended at an upscale housing complex in Serpong, Tangerang, just south of Jakarta, and taken to the metropolitan police headquarters for interrogation, said Chief Comr. Hengki Haryadi, the director of the Jakarta Police's detective unit.

The case against the twins began when they were reported to the police on January 15 for allegedly stealing a rented car. However, further investigations uncovered their involvement in a larger scam involving fraudulent iPhone investments. 

It was discovered that they had taken at least Rp 35 billion ($2.3 million) from individuals who had fallen victim to their scheme.

One of the victims, Vicky Fachreza, explained that he came into contact with the twins after purchasing an iPhone from them in 2021. 

Rihana and Rihani claimed to be authorized sellers of Apple products in Indonesia and invited Vicky and his wife to join their business. 

"We wanted to have a secondary business apart from our jobs as employees in a private company," Vicky said.

The couple received iPhone units from the twins regularly between June and October 2021. However, when they placed an order worth Rp 5.8 billion from November 2021 to March 2022, the phones were never delivered.

It was later revealed that other individuals had also not received the iPhones they paid for. In April of the previous year, they met with the twins, who promised a refund within a month. However, the money was never transferred, and the sisters disappeared.

The victims collectively suffered losses amounting to Rp 35 billion as a result of the fraudulent scheme orchestrated by Rihana and Rihani, according to Vicky.