Govt warned about organized crime
Govt warned about organized crime
SEMARANG (JP): Leading criminologist Mulyana W. Kusumah warned that Indonesia must thoroughly prepare itself to deal with international organized crime which is now expanding operations worldwide.
International crime organizations like the Mafia, the Triads and the Yakuza, as well as Columbia-based narcotics cartels, are spreading their activities throughout the world, including East Asia, Mulyana, of the Jakarta-based University of Indonesia.
He said there is also another crime syndicate, whose name is less familiar in Indonesia, that is based in the former Soviet republics.
These organizations deal with various kinds of crimes from car thefts, selling nuclear materials, smuggling migrants, computer crimes, trafficking drugs, selling firearms, to environmental crimes and money laundering, Mulyana told The Jakarta Post.
"The operation of these organizations has become a social, economic and political threat to many countries, both the developed and developing ones," he said.
Mulyana, an executive of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, said the organizations exploit loopholes in banking regulations in certain countries to legally deposit their money. They also invest some of their funds in legal businesses, he said.
Even though many countries have ratified the UN convention against money laundering, this does not affect the organizations, which have "political support" from certain governments, Mulyana said.
He praised the domestics police for their idea of cooperating with the international police to develop a national central bureau as an effort to cope with international crime activities.
A developing country with high economic growth like Indonesia could become a target for international crime operations, especially because of the intensified business interactions and the weak regulations, he said.
"Clearly, the door is open for them to run both legal and illegal businesses," he said.
Mulyana also underlined the need for a good governance to prevent international crimes.
Good governance can only be established if there is proper accountability by the government, enough room for social control, and strong law enforcement, which could stop the practice of corruption and collusion between business people and government officials, Mulyana said.
He supported the statement of the Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman, who recently said that because the national criminal code had universal principles, the government should fully support international cooperation pattern to fight transnational organized crimes. Cooperation is needed not only in the investigation process, but also in prosecution and trials, Mulyana quoted the minister as saying.
Mulyana said the effort to combat international crimes should include not only the reformation and improvement of the national legal system, but also the drafting of new international agreements. (har/sim)