Legal Expert Questions Prosecutors and Judges Calculating State Losses: Since When Did We Study Accounting?
Professor Romli Atmasasmita, a Distinguished Professor of Law at Padjadjaran University, has highlighted the problematic involvement of prosecutors and judges in calculating state losses in the corruption cases they handle. According to Romli, this creates issues because law enforcement officials do not possess a scientific background in mathematics or accounting.
“Since when did the law faculty curriculum include studying mathematical accounting? Never. How do prosecutors calculate it? Judges too,” Romli stated during a public hearing with the Indonesian Parliament’s Legislation Committee (Baleg DPR RI) on Monday (18/5/2026).
He assessed that this situation persists because the element of state loss is still maintained within the Law on Corruption Crimes (UU Tipikor). “Therefore, in my opinion, if we are strict regarding Article 3 of the UNCAC, which we have ratified, let us discard those state losses. Just discard them, and it is finished!” he argued.
According to Romli, Indonesia should follow the provisions of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) that it has already ratified. “With Article 3 of the UNCAC, it is settled. Articles 2 and 3 present no problems. Thus, there would be no dispute over who performs the calculation,” he added.
He also touched upon the debate regarding the authority of institutions responsible for calculating state losses. He noted that the Audit Board of Indonesia (BPK), as a state institution, is frequently ignored. “This is my conclusion. The 1945 Constitution, yes. Consistency, I do not know. The evidence is that the BPK is the only state institution, yet it is disregarded. Various interpretations emerge under the guise of technical reasons,” said Romli.
This regulation has become a source of debate in the enforcement of corruption laws. “I also regret why I included ‘state financial losses’ in there, which has now become a subject of dispute,” he concluded.