Government submits bill on money laundering to House

JAKARTA (JP): The government submitted to the House of Representatives on Monday a bill to fight money laundering by international criminal syndicates.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Marsillam Simanjuntak said the draft law was urgently required because money laundering had resulted in massive financial losses to the state and worsened the country's already lagging economy.

"Crimes that raise huge amounts of money continue to increase, involve both people and corporations, both with domestic and international syndicates, and have cost the people and the state," Marsillam, who represented the government, said during a House plenary session.

Marsillam did not elaborate on the local and international networks involved in money laundering or how much these crimes had cost the state. He said, however, the crimes in question included corruption, fraud, smuggling, banking crimes, the trade in narcotics, children and slaves, gambling and terrorism.

He said money laundering in the country was assisted by the development of sophisticated information and transportation technology, and Indonesia's strategic position between Australia and Asia.

The minister also said the draft law was in compliance with the international agreement to eradicate money laundering and with the enforcement of laws on banking and capital markets.

He said the bill identified two new kinds of evidence that could be used in investigating money laundering. The first relates to any information that was sent, received or stored electronically, other than electronic data interchange, electronic letters, telegrams, telex and facsimiles. The second deals with documents, which comprise manuscripts, pictures, sounds, photos, codes, signals and other significant data.

The minister said the bill also regulated the establishment of a commission on the eradication of money laundering.

According to him, the commission, which must be independent of the state, should have chapters in areas close to Indonesia's neighbors.

"The commission is expected to forge bilateral cooperations with the governments of neighboring countries, but is also allowed to cooperate with law enforcers, the finance ministry and the central bank in carrying out its investigations," he said.

He said the bill would enable judges to gain necessary information from banks about the accounts of those suspected of involvement in money laundering, despite the law on banking secrecy.

"The bill also regulates the provision of incentives or rewards for those reporting money laundering cases, as well as providing them legal protection," he said.

During the plenary session, House factions also gave their support for a bill on shifting the burden of proof to those accused of corruption. They said the House and the government should speed up the deliberation of the bill due to the rampant corruption in the country.

The bill, which was submitted to the House in April, will amend Law No. 31/1999 on the eradication of corruption. The law was found ineffective in eliminating corruption and collusion among state officials and businesspeople. (rms)