Paul Michael Willis will never forget the SMS he received on the morning of April 21, 2008. It was an invitation to a meeting that led to his losing US$2.5 million in investments. Not only that, but more importantly I also lost my right to the Tujuh Bukit project in Banyuwangi," Willis told Tempo when he visited the magazine's office recently.

Willis was referring to a gold mining concession at Gunung Tumpang Pintu in Banyuwangi regency, East Java.