Government submits bill on money laundering to House
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)