Legal Expert Urges Strong Evidence-Based Approach for Asset Forfeiture Bill

The Indonesian House of Representatives’ Commission III has confirmed that the Criminal Asset Forfeiture Bill (RUU PATP) will be ratified no later than 15 December 2026. This comes despite the fact that discussions regarding the bill have been stalled for over a decade.

Legal and development observer Hardjuno Wiwoho has warned of the importance of monitoring the parliamentary discussions to ensure the regulation is not misused by authorities to criminalise or extort the public. He noted that the scope of the bill is exceptionally broad, as it encompasses 13 different types of criminal offences.

“This bill must possess the dimension and spirit of corruption eradication, in line with the commitment of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto. Therefore, there should be no more playing around with this bill,” Hardjuno told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday (1/9/2026).

The 13 criminal offences to be regulated under the RUU PATP include corruption, narcotics, terrorism, human/arms smuggling, forestry, environmental crimes, taxation, banking, insurance, mining, maritime/fisheries, and human trafficking. Hardjuno stated that while the expansion of the bill’s scope is a progressive step, it must be accompanied by extreme caution in the formulation of its articles.