Legal expert warns asset seizure rules must guarantee rights protection

Jakarta — A legal and development observer from Airlangga University, Hardjuno Wiwoho, has cautioned that regulations governing the mechanism of asset seizure without criminal prosecution must be formulated clearly and comprehensively to ensure legal certainty and protect citizens’ rights.

He noted that in Indonesia, the application of such measures remains contentious as it concerns the protection of private property rights and the principle of legal certainty.

“Asset seizure cannot disregard legal certainty and protection of citizens’ rights,” stated Hardjuno in a statement in Jakarta on Saturday.

According to him, Indonesia still lacks comprehensive regulations that specifically govern the mechanism of non-conviction based asset forfeiture (NCB).

However, he noted that such a mechanism has long been part of the international framework in efforts to recover assets from criminal activity, particularly corruption and money laundering.

Hardjuno explained that Indonesia has actually ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) since 2006. However, until now, Indonesia does not have national regulations that specifically and comprehensively govern the mechanism of asset seizure without criminal prosecution within the national legal system.

In many cases of economic crime such as corruption and money laundering, he noted that assets from criminal activity are often transferred, concealed, or redirected through various complex financial mechanisms.

“This situation causes the process of recovering state losses to become protracted because law enforcement typically must wait for criminal convictions against perpetrators first,” he explained.

He outlined that the NCB concept allows the state to seize assets suspected of originating from criminal activity without having to wait for criminal convictions against the perpetrators.

He stated that this approach shifts the focus of law enforcement from merely pursuing criminals towards tracing and recovering criminal proceeds through the “follow the money” principle.

Such a mechanism, he continued, has been implemented in several countries as an important instrument in recovering state assets, particularly in cases of corruption, money laundering, and cross-border economic crime.