Anti-money laundering law expected next year

The House of Representatives is expected to be able to complete debate on the anti-money laundering bill before June 2002, according to a senior official of the central bank.

Bank Indonesia deputy director for research and development Nelson Tampubolon was quoted by Antara as saying on Friday in Surabaya that completion of the bill was crucial if Indonesia wanted to avoid severe international sanctions.

Nelson said that the so-called Financial Action Task Force (FATF) convened every year in June to conduct an evaluation of the seriousness of countries' efforts to create and develop systems aimed at combating money laundering activities.

The group was established by 29 industrialized and developed countries in 1989.

FATF member governments are expected to impose certain sanctions on the blacklisted countries, including preventing -- or at least warning -- multinational companies from doing business in those countries.

"That sanction will be too hard for the country to bear, especially as we're still in a recovery phase. So the House needs to finalize its debates no later than June," Nelson said.

"Indonesia has already been placed on (FATF's) blacklist once ... because of its alleged lack of seriousness in combating the illegal practice," he said.

Money laundering involves transforming ill-gotten wealth into legal investments. Developing countries are often considered soft targets by money launderers as they lack the measures necessary to detect and prevent the practice from occurring.

The government presented the anti-money laundering bill to the House in June last year.

Now that the House is enjoying a month-long recess, it is likely that the debates will resume in late November or early December.