Indonesia -
The new anti-money laundering bill will give the anti-graft body more authority
to investigate cash flow in connection with corruption cases, a legislative
team says.
With the current law, only the police and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO)
are authorized to probe such cases. Both institutions have drawn harsh
criticism for their weak measures against corruption.
Azis Syamsuddin, a member of the legislative team in charge of formulating the
bill, said Friday that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) would be
vested with the authority if the new anti-money laundering bill passed this
year.
Activists and experts have criticized the AGO and the police for a number of
fiascoes in money-laundering cases in the past seven years.
“Under the new bill, the KPK can investigate allegations pertaining to criminal
[money-laundering] offenses, as long as the commission has preliminary evidence
of corruption in money-laundering cases,” Azis, a Golkar Party legislator,
said.
Apart from conferring more power on the KPK, the bill would empower the role of
the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) in investigating
suspicious financial transactions.
Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) legislator Irsal Yunus, who
also helped to formulate the legislative draft, told The Jakarta Post that the
bill would allow the PPATK to exercise more investigative functions regarding
financial assessments.
The Democratic Party’s Harry Wicaksono, who is also on the legislative team,
concurred.
He said that under the new bill, the PPATK would be able to request any
financial institution to freeze suspected bank accounts linked to
money-laundering activities. “However, legal investigations into such
activities still fall under the jurisdiction of the police and the AGO.”
The PPATK is currently mandated to collect, analyze and disclose financial
intelligence on suspected money-laundering cases and terrorist financing to
only the police and the AGO.
During the bill formulation process Friday, the legislative team agreed to
include an article that would endow the KPK with the power to demand that the
PPATK disclose its reports to the anti-graft commission.
Previously, major political parties such as the PDI-P, Golkar, the United
Development Party, and the People’s Conscience Party, had opposed such a move.
Their opposition came under harsh criticism from other parties, including the
Democratic Party, the National Awakening Party, the National Mandate Party and
the Prosperous Justice Party. All believe that the new bill should enable the
PPATK to refer money-laundering cases to the KPK in cases where the predicate
crimes are classified as corruption, and to turn in its reports to the KPK, if
requested.
Edison Betaubun from the Golkar Party said the reports submitted to the KPK
would be in the form of copies, while the AGO and the police would obtain the
original versions.
“It won’t be a problem if we receive only the copies, as long as the commission
has the investigative authority [in money-laundering cases related to
corruption],” KPK deputy chairman Chandra M. Hamzah said.
