On Monday, 20th January, PARQ Ubud was formally closed down for business after the premises were issued temporary closure notices in November 2024.
PARQ Ubud, a well-known residential and creative hub, was closed down by the authorities after it was found to have been developed against a series of business, construction, and environmental regulations.
Andrej Frey, the founder and director of PARQ Ubud, was arrested on Friday, 24th January, in connection with the ‘illegal transfer of land functions.’
The German national has been the mastermind behind PARQ Developments, with PARQ Ubud standing as the most established company property.
PARQ Ubud has long been referred to locally as the ‘Russian Village’ due to the high number of Russian nationals who had invested in the complex and had been residing there.
The Bali Police Chief, Daniel Adityajaya, spoke to reporters during a press conference and confirmed that Frey, aged 53, owns 34 certificates of ownership (SHM) for the plots of land that make up the PARQ Ubud site, which spans over 1.8 hectares.
According to Indonesian law, the 1.8 hectares is formally registered as Zone 1 Protected Rice Field Land (LSD) and Sustainable Food Agriculture Land (LP2B), zone 3, which is designated as plantation land, and a tourism zone; which essentially means that it is not permissible to construct commercial properties without sufficient permits, licenses and environmental impact assessments and strict building controls.
Police Chief Adityajaya told reporters, “In the P1 zone, there are villas, spa centers, and animal farms that are still under construction. After being excavated, it turns out that the land is a transfer of sustainable agricultural land.”
The PARQ Ubud site features a 103-room hotel and residential complex, co-working spaces, gyms, restaurants, and event spaces.
He emphasized that due to Frey’s actions, the Gianyar Regency Government lost a lot of productive land. Noting, “The area of lost land is 1,845 hectares from a total of 1,752 hectares of productive land in Gianyar.”
Frey was paraded in front of the media at the press conference. He was held in handcuffs, wore grey shorts and an orange prison shirt, and his face was covered with a black face mask.
Frey’s arrest comes after months of investigation work starting in November 2024. PARQ Ubud was first visited by the authorities in April 2023 when immigration officials suspected that residents at the site were misusing their visas. However, no violations were reported.
The Police Chief added, “The suspect is the Director of PT Parq Ubud Partners, Director of PT Tomorrow Land Development Bali, and Director of PT Alfa Management Bali.”
Following the closure of PARQ Ubud on Monday 20th January the Assistant of the General Administration of the Gianyar Regency Secretary, I Ketut Pasek Lanang Sadia told the media “The closure was carried out by the laws and Regional Regulations of Gianyar Regency, and has gone through several stages.”
Adding, “The cessation of business activities and the closure of the PARQ Ubud business premises located at Jalan Sriwedari No. 24 Banjar Tegallagang was carried out because it violated Article 19 paragraph 3 of Gianyar Regency Regional Regulation No. 15 of 2015 concerning Public Order and Public Order.”
It is expected that PARQ Ubud could be the first of many internationally owned developments in Bali that could be closed down or have construction work stopped in the coming months. This comes as leaders in Bali are set on curbing rampant development on the island, protecting productive agricultural landscapes and vulnerable ecosystems across the province.
The Ex-Deputy Governor of Bali and Head of the Bali Hotel and Restaurant Association, Cok Ace, told reporters last week that leaders in Bali will be coming after foreign-owned businesses and developments that are operating against regulations, whether those regulations be in regard to business licenses, taxes, building regulations or environmental protections.
Cok Ace explained, “While we try to be orderly, foreign companies do not follow the rules, so we lose the competition and lose the market because the market comes directly from their respective countries and then lose in terms of paying taxes.”