Drug linked to money laundering

Drug linked to money laundering

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Financial Transaction Report and
Analysis Center (PPATK) head Yunus Husein called on the police
Tuesday to charge drug dealers under anti-money laundering laws.

"Money from drugs trafficking is categorized as money
laundering and Indonesia is among the countries whose financial
system is misused to accommodate such a crime," Yunus told a
seminar on international cooperation in combating drug abuse.

Yunus said Law No. 15/2002 on anti-money laundering allowed
law enforcers to ask alleged drugs traders to prove that their
assets were not the results of drug trafficking.

The law also allows law enforcers to ask banks to disclose
accounts belonging to alleged drug dealers.

He said utilizing the law would provide more advantages than
Law No. 5/1997 on psychotropic drugs.

Yunus said although several articles in the anti-money
laundering law would be amended, some of the articles would
remain in place to enable police to charge alleged drug dealers
under the law. --JP