Origins In 2016, Hadiningrat founded the Jogjakarta Development Committee (DEC), claiming to be an NGO working in the field of development. Hadiningrat claimed that anyone who signed up to be a member would get disbursements of around 100 to 200 dollars a month. These disbursements would be drawn on the committee's account with the Esa Monetary Fund, a fictional Swiss bank. The disbursements would never materialise. Four years later, Hadiningrat would re-surface with the Keraton.
Founding Hadiningrat claimed he was granted the authority to found a successor state to the
Majapahit Empire in 2018. He based this claim on the contention that when the Majapahit emperor Dyah Ranawijaya signed over sovereignty to the
Portuguese in 1518, he did so on the condition that sovereignty be returned 500 years in the future.
Frivolous claims Hadiningrat claimed
the Pentagon and the
United Nations as being under the authority of the Keraton. He also claimed dominion over every country on Earth. Hadiningrat painted a portrait in which the United Nations served as the legislature, the
International Court of Justice the judiciary, and the Pentagon responsible for the defence of the Keraton.
Response and further developments Hadiningrat collected around 200 dollars from prospective members in exchange for uniforms and titles. On 12 January 2020, Keraton members held a
wilujengan at Pogung Juru Tengah township in Purworejo Prefectire. The event reportedly caused local residents discomfort, and many of them lodged first information reports with the
Indonesian National Police. The following day, law enforcement officers arrived to investigate the scene. Hadiningrat and Gitarja were taken into custody on 14 January in
Kulon Progo Regency,
Special Region of Yogyakarta. They were transferred to
Semarang and designated suspects on the 15th. On the 21st, Hadiningrat admitted in a press conference that the
Keraton was a scam, and that its alleged historicity was entirely fabricated. == Public response ==