Money laundering poses a big threat to world
Money laundering poses a big threat to world
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia needs effective laws and better law
enforcement if it is to combat money laundering, the president of
the International Criminal Police Organization says.
Like other countries in the region, Indonesia is prone to
money laundering by international criminals, Bjorn Eriksson told
reporters at the end of his three-day visit here yesterday.
"In the long run, a great threat is posed by laundering," said
Eriksson, who is also chief of the Swedish police and was invited
here by the Indonesian police. "But if we have the right type of
laws, we can work together to solve the problem."
Money laundering, combined with drug trafficking, is the
biggest threat facing crime fighters in the world today, he said.
The money that drug traffickers launder and invest as part of
their modus operandi creates unfair competition to law-abiding
businesses.
He said Indonesia could argue that, at present, it is only
used as a transit point by international drug traffickers. But in
the long run, criminals will find Indonesia an attractive place
to launder their money, if the laws are not improved soon.
A key part of any plan to combat money laundering should be
strict national legislation and effective law enforcement
methods, Eriksson said.
It is also crucial to foster cooperation between national law
enforcement authorities and banks, and between international
bodies, he said.
The secretary of Interpol's Indonesia bureau, Brig. Gen. Sonny
Harsono, has said that local police forces are aware of several
cases of money laundering.
"But they are not easy to investigate. Banking laws give banks
the right to withhold the identities of their customers," Sonny
said.
The one-star general said his bureau was often unable to pass
on information to other members of the International Criminal
Police Organization for the same reason.
"It has given our country a bad reputation in the
international community."
Eriksson was also invited to speak at a one-day seminar on
money laundering here on Thursday. (bsr)