Juniver Girsang Warns Asset Forfeiture Bill Could Become Tool to Eliminate Political Opponents

Lawyer Juniver Girsang has offered input on the Asset Forfeiture Bill, cautioning Commission III of the House of Representatives (DPR) against allowing the bill to become a tool for destroying political opponents.

He began by recounting his experience handling asset forfeiture cases, saying one of his clients is now suffering because assets worth Rp 10 trillion were seized by the state.

“I need not explain why, but I believe it is common knowledge what is happening now. In our experience, the alleged loss to our client was, say, Rp 200 billion, yet what was blocked and seized amounted to Rp 10 trillion,” Juniver said during a hearing at Commission III of the DPR at Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday (3/8/2026).

Juniver described the seizure as brutal, saying law enforcers blocked assets belonging to his client thousands of times over.

“And the most brutal part was that when I asked on what basis, the calculation in the summons to my client was clear in amount, yet the seizure and blocking was thousands of times greater than what was alleged,” he said.

In light of that experience, he urged Commission III of the DPR to remain vigilant about the Asset Forfeiture Bill, touching on its potential to become a tool of those in power.

“Mr Chairman, as I mentioned earlier, we must be alert in drafting this Asset Forfeiture or asset recovery law. My worry, if I may apologise before continuing, Mr Chairman, is that based on our experience, this must not become a new ‘instrument of power’ to destroy political opponents — that is really what is in our hearts,” he asserted.

Juniver also argued that not a single country has yet successfully implemented asset forfeiture rules.

“Secondly, I have yet to find a reference to date. Let us not become a tool of developed nations making ratifications that are in fact instruments of pressure against us. Perhaps we need to study further which countries have successfully ratified asset forfeiture, so we can learn from them, but to my knowledge none have succeeded after its enforcement,” he said.

“In fact, this becomes — what is the most fitting term — a tool to destroy opponents. That is why we firmly state that this bill is highly biased,” he continued.