TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Pandawa Group's leader Salman Nuryanto said the company had returned some of its members' money invested in the group. He promised to return every penny by no later than February 1, 2017.

"The amount of funds that had not been returned is Rp500 million, belonging to 100 investors," Salman said at the Financial Services Authority (OJK) building in Jakarta, Monday, November 28.

Pandawa Group is recorded to have 1,000 members who deposited a total of Rp500 billion to the group.

Salman began returning that money since the OJK declared their money-collecting activity illegal. The OJK and the Investment Alert Task Force on November 11, 2016, stopped the activity. Seventeen days later, Pandawa had returned Rp499.5 billion worth of members' funds.

The Task Force's chief Tongam Lumban Tobing said they will continue to monitor Pandawa Group's activity. "Salman himself had written a statement," he said.

The statement, signed and sealed by Salman, stated that in addition to returning the collected money, Salman had stopped Pandawa Group's activity since Nov. 11, 2016. He has also stopped giving members-investors a 10-percent monthly interest.

Salman asked the public to be careful with any fund-collecting solicitations—promising a 10-percent interest rate—done on behalf of his name, Pandawa Group's, or Pandawa Mandiri Group Lending Cooperatives (KSP).

VINDRY FLORENTIN