Accounts link terrorists

JAKARTA: Bank Indonesia (BI) announced on Wednesday that it has ordered all banks throughout the country to freeze accounts owned by individuals or groups allegedly having links with international terrorists.

The order was made following an official request from the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to freeze 28 bank accounts suspected of having links with terrorist groups, Erwin Riyanto of BI, the central bank, said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post.

"The AGO and Bank Indonesia are waiting for reports from the banks about the findings from the 28 accounts," Erwin said.

The order to freeze the accounts is consistent with UN Resolution No 1333 dated Dec. 19, 2000 and No. 1373 dated Sept. 28, 2001 in the war against international terrorism.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also issued a similar order to both the BI and the Ministry of Finance on Sept. 26, 2001, he said.

Indonesian Law No. 10/1998 on banking, however, prohibits a governor or any director of BI to freeze any account without official orders from the state prosecutors. -- JP