Bamsoet Highlights New Criminal Code: Rogue Corporations Can Now Be Prosecuted, Shadow Controllers No Longer Safe
Jakarta, VIVA – Member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Bambang Soertyo, also known as Bamsoet, has asserted that the criminal law reform through Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the National Criminal Code (KUHP Nasional) is a vital step in strengthening business accountability. One of the fundamental changes in these regulations is the recognition of corporations as subjects of criminal law that can be held liable for criminal acts.
According to Bamsoet, the provisions regulated in Articles 45 to 49 of the National Criminal Code represent significant progress in dismantling corporate crime practices that have long hidden behind corporate legal entities.
This was stated by Bamsoet while lecturing on the National Law Reform course in the Doctoral Program of Law at Borobudur University, Jakarta, on Saturday, 4 July 2026.
“Corporations are no longer viewed merely as vehicles for business activities, but can also be held criminally liable if they derive benefits from criminal acts or allow criminal acts to occur within their business scope. This step provides legal certainty while strengthening the accountability of a healthy business world,” he said.
New Criminal Code Seen to Close Loopholes for Corporate Crime
Bamsoet explained that the recognition of corporations as subjects of criminal law is one of the most significant updates in the National Criminal Code. This change was implemented to adapt to the increasingly complex developments in economic crime.
According to him, the primary perpetrators in various economic crimes no longer always act as individuals, but instead utilise legal entities, corporate networks, and complex ownership structures to make it difficult for law enforcement agencies to reach them.
He assessed that this condition was a weakness in the old Criminal Code, which was still oriented towards individual liability.
In practice, various criminal acts such as corruption, money laundering, tax manipulation, environmental crimes, illegal trade, and crimes in the financial sector are increasingly being carried out through corporations.
Bamsoet believes the presence of the National Criminal Code provides new hope because the law is now capable of ensnaring not only those who formally sign corporate documents, but also those who control crimes from behind corporate structures.
“Good law must not be blunt towards shadow controllers, but it must also not be indiscriminate towards legitimate business actors. That is the true test of Articles 45-49 of the Criminal Code: to pierce the corporate mask without killing the spirit of entrepreneurship,” he said.