Cooperation vital to curb terrorist fund<\/p>\n
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government should push for cooperation with anti-money
\nlaundering agencies abroad to trace the flow of terrorist funds
\nin a bid to help fight against global terrorism, an official
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Yunus Husein, the chairman of the Financial Transaction and
\nReport Analysis Center (PPATK), said cooperation with other anti-
\nmoney laundering institutions would enable the government to
\nrequest data from foreign counterparts so as to help track down
\nterrorist suspects.<\/p>\n
\"The cooperation allows the sharing of information between two
\nor more parties. We can ask them to investigate any suspicious
\ntransactions, whether involving money or property,\" Yunus told
\nThe Jakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"For example, the AMLO database is connected online with every
\ninstitution in Thailand. They even receive reports from the
\npublic,\" Yunus said.<\/p>\n
The PPATK, Yunus said, has already entered into agreements
\nwith Thailand's Anti Money Laundering Office (AMLO) and
\nMalaysia's Financial Intelligence Unit for the sharing of
\ninformation.<\/p>\n
\"But the government has yet to use these arrangements (to
\ntrack down the flow of terrorist funds),\" he said.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Bank Indonesia Governor Burhanuddin
\nAbdullah said that the central bank was talking with its
\nSingapore counterpart to sound out a mechanism for curbing the
\nflow of terrorist funds.<\/p>\n
Burhanuddin said that similar discussions were planned with
\nthe Thai authorities.<\/p>\n
The PPATK is the agency tasked with receiving and analyzing
\nreports on suspicious financial transactions as part of the
\nglobal fight against money laundering.<\/p>\n
The global anti-money laundering watchdog, the Financial
\nAction Task Force (FATF), has listed Indonesia as among the
\nuncooperative countries and territories (NCCTs) in the fight
\nagainst money laundering.<\/p>\n
The FATF has put strong pressure on the government to revise
\nthe country's new law on money laundering to comply with
\ninternational standards. The pressure mounted following the Sept.
\n11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.<\/p>\n
The watchdog gave Indonesia until late September to finish the
\namendment of the Law or risk severe financial and economic
\nsanctions.<\/p>\n
Sanctions against NCCTs range from the imposition of premium
\ncharges on transactions with foreign companies, halting
\ncorrespondence between Indonesian banks with their counterparts
\nin FATF countries, and rejecting Indonesian Letters of Credit.<\/p>\n
Yunus said the amendment of the money laundering law was set
\nfor deliberation during the current session of the House of
\nRepresentatives.<\/p>\n
Analysts have said that rampant corruption and weak law
\nenforcement have made Indonesia a safe haven for international
\ncriminals.<\/p>\n
box:
\nList (as of Aug. 8, 2003) of non-cooperative countries and
\nterritories:<\/p>\n
1. Cook Islands 6. Nauru
\n2. Egypt 7. Nigeria
\n3. Guatemala 8. Philippines
\n4. Indonesia 9. Ukraine
\n5. Myanmar<\/p>\n
Source: www1.oecd.org\/fatf<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/cooperation-vital-to-curb-terrorist-fund-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }