Banks urged to report suspicious transactions<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has strongly urged financial institutions to
\nreport any suspicious transactions they might have come across,
\nas Indonesia races against time to be dropped from the Financial
\nAction Task Force (FATF) list of countries deemed uncooperative
\nin fighting global money laundering.<\/p>\n
\"This is a serious problem. The number of reports is minuscule
\ncompared to the number of existing financial institutions, and
\ncompared to indications that many crime-related transactions are
\noccurring in the country,\" Coordinating Minister for the Economy
\nDorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said on Tuesday after a meeting between
\nfinancial institutions and the Financial Transaction and Report
\nAnalysis Center (PPATK).<\/p>\n
Dorodjatun, who is also deputy head of the country's anti-
\nmoney-laundering committee, said responding to the government's
\ncall was essential in getting Indonesia off the FATF list of non-
\ncooperative countries and territories (NCCT).<\/p>\n
The FATF is a global money laundering watchdog set up by the
\nOrganization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).<\/p>\n
During its latest meeting in February, the Paris-based
\nwatchdog retained Indonesia on its NCCT list, despite the
\ncountry's efforts to combat money laundering, such as amending
\nLaw No. 15\/2002 on money laundering, establishing the PPATK and
\npassing Law No. 25\/2003, which requires banks to have a thorough
\nknowledge of their customers.<\/p>\n
The FATF plans to convene again in June and meet with the
\ngovernment to review Indonesia's seriousness in cracking down on
\nmoney laundering.<\/p>\n
PPATK head Yunus Husein said that as of March 30, the center
\nhad received only 558 reports of suspicious transactions from 37
\nbanks, one pension fund manager, one funding institution and one
\nsecurities company out of 137 banks, 393 pension fund managers,
\nand hundreds of funding institutions and securities companies.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, none of the 2,130 rural credit banks (BPR), 814
\nforeign exchange traders and money delivery companies, 261
\ninsurance companies, 178 stock brokers, 18 custodian banks and 10
\nmutual fund companies had filed any reports with the PPATK.<\/p>\n
Dorodjatun detailed the possible sanctions that may be imposed
\non NCCTs, including halting correspondence between NCCT banks and
\ntheir counterparts in FATF countries, rejecting letters of credit
\ndrawn by NCCT banks and imposing tight scrutiny and premium
\ncharges on any transactions conducted by NCCTs with foreign
\ncompanies, which would create a high-cost economy.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/banks-urged-to-report-suspicious-transactions-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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