Expert Says State Losses Alone Insufficient to Prove Corruption

A criminal law expert from the Indonesian Christian University, Mompang Panggabean, has stated that the element of state loss alone is insufficient to hold a person criminally responsible in a corruption case. He emphasised that the element of fault, or mens rea, must also be proven to establish criminal liability. Mompang provided this expert opinion while testifying for the defence in a trial concerning alleged corruption in national export financing at the Indonesia Eximbank (LPEI) at the Jakarta Corruption Court. He explained that a person cannot be held criminally liable simply because their actions are later linked to a state loss. In criminal law, he noted, there is the concept of actus reus, which refers to the physical element of the act, and mens rea, which relates to the mental element or fault of the perpetrator. The fulfilment of the act alone is not enough to demand criminal responsibility; the element of fault must also be proven. The defence lawyer illustrated the financing mechanism at LPEI, explaining that the process is tiered, starting from a relationship manager who proposes the financing to the final decision made by a committee. The case involves eight defendants accused of unlawful acts in granting export financing facilities between 2015 and 2020, with prosecutors alleging the use of documents related to feasibility studies, asset appraisals, fiduciary security, and contracts that were not in accordance with the actual conditions.