KPK Deputy Proposes Seizing Officials’ Assets Not Declared in Wealth Reports

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Deputy Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Johanis Tanak, has proposed that the Bill on the Forfeiture of Assets Related to Criminal Offences provide for the state to seize public officials’ assets that are not listed in their LHKPN wealth reports.

“If someone submits a State Officials’ Wealth Report (LHKPN) and it turns out their actual wealth exceeds the amount declared, those assets should be liable to seizure,” Tanak told journalists in Jakarta on Sunday.

“Yes, this should also apply to officials required to submit an LHKPN who fail to do so: their assets should simply be seized by the state under the Asset Forfeiture Law,” he proposed.

He also proposed establishing a mechanism for public officials to object to the state’s efforts to seize their assets.

Tanak said he made the proposal to ensure that every public official submits an accurate LHKPN to the KPK.

“If this is stipulated in the Asset Forfeiture Law, public officials will not dare submit false LHKPN reports. They will certainly report their wealth accurately,” he said.

He proposed retaining the bill’s current name and the term ‘forfeiture’.

“The term ‘forfeiture’ is more appropriate than using another term, because the Law on the Eradication of Corruption Crimes (the Anti-Corruption Law) also uses the word ‘forfeiture’ extensively,” he said.

He cited Article 18 of Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption Crimes, as amended by Law No. 20 of 2001.

“So the word ‘forfeiture’ is neither taboo nor unusual. It is routinely provided for in the Anti-Corruption Law,” he said.