Indonesia drafting law to curb money laundering
Indonesia drafting law to curb money laundering
JAKARTA (JP): The government is preparing a draft law on money
laundering in a bid to curb inflows of illegal money into and out
of the country, said a senior minister on Thursday.
Minister of Justice Muladi said the introduction of the money
laundering law would be in line with the government's strong
commitment to eliminate all forms of corruption, collusion and
nepotism (locally known as KKN).
He said the draft law was still being formulated and would be
submitted to the new House of Representatives, to be formed in
September.
Muladi, who is also minister/state secretary, said the bill on
money laundering would stipulate activities relating to money
laundering.
A clear definition of money laundering is needed so that even
a bank clerk will be able to detect possible involvement of their
clients in such illegal practices.
"If a bank official discovers significant activity in a bank
account, he should take the time to make a special report for
further analysis," he said.
The existence of a money laundering law in Indonesia was long
overdue, he said, adding that cases of money laundering in the
country may have occurred, but they could not be proved or
prosecuted because of the absence of a law..
"I suspect Singapore is a safe place for money laundering by
Indonesian citizens," Muladi said.
He said his suspicions were based on the fact that the
neighboring country had never agreed to sign an extradition
agreement with Indonesia.
Deputy governor of the central bank Subarjo Joyosumarto said
the central bank was ready to support the implementation of a
money laundering law.
He said that under the new law on the monitoring of foreign
exchange traffic, travelers were required to report any foreign
exchange transaction.
"The report includes the type and purpose of transaction, the
people involved in the transaction and the destination and origin
of the transaction," Subarjo said.
He said the newly ratified banking law allows the central bank
to disclose a depositor's accounts following authorization from
the minister of finance, the attorney general and the police or
other related government offices.
The draft of the money laundering law is being prepared by a
team involving the Ministry of Justice, the Attorney General's
Office and the central bank.
The team is led by Romli Atmasasmita, the director general of
law at the Ministry of Justice. (udi)