Multiple Risks in the Draft Government Regulation in Lieu of Law on Economic Crime
The discussion of a draft Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) on combating economic crime and national economic recovery has recently attracted media attention.
R. Haidar Alwi, founder of the Haidar Alwi Institute (HAI) and Vice-Chair of the ITB Alumni Association Board of Trustees, has stated that this draft Perppu risks fundamentally altering the architecture of Indonesia’s criminal law. “Rather than becoming an instrument for economic recovery, this Perppu risks creating economic law enforcement that is too strong, too broad, and with minimal oversight,” he said in an official statement on Monday, 16 March 2026.
In the widely circulated draft document, the regulation’s rationale addresses white collar crime, which has transformed into systematic, organised, and cross-border offences that threaten the nation’s economic stability and growth. The draft also cites the loss of state assets from natural resource sector practices, market manipulation, and cyber financial crime as increasingly complex matters difficult to address under existing regulations. Consequently, the government proposes establishing a new legal framework to accelerate economic law enforcement, recover state losses, and establish a dedicated task force to handle economic crime in an integrated manner.
Alwi has highlighted several concerning articles in the draft. Article 4 risks creating inter-agency conflict by granting the task force authority to assume investigations from other institutions if a case is deemed to threaten national economic stability. “This means the task force could take over cases previously handled by the Police and the Corruption Eradication Commission. This authority risks creating institutional conflict whilst strengthening the position of the Attorney General as the dominant actor in economic law enforcement,” he said.
He also flagged Article 5 regarding the disclosure of banking secrets. It states that “for the smooth conduct of investigations, requests for information, data and intelligence to financial service providers by the task force are exempted from banking confidentiality provisions.” Whilst this can accelerate asset tracing processes, Alwi warned it raises questions about protection of financial privacy and the potential for misuse of financial data by prosecutors. He also criticised Article 6’s settlement fine mechanism, which risks creating vulnerable plea-bargaining practices open to abuse.
Furthermore, Alwi expressed concern that without strong oversight, this regulation risks alarming business operators and investors. “The broad definition of economic crime, significant asset seizure powers, and concentration of enforcement authority in one institution could create legal uncertainty for the business sector,” he stated.
Whilst the draft Perppu may offer new instruments to accelerate recovery of state losses and strengthen handling of increasingly complex economic crime, the concentration of law enforcement power, extremely broad definitions of economic offences, and mechanisms for out-of-court case resolution present substantial potential for abuse.
The government has not yet provided detailed explanation of its plans to discuss the draft further. Previously, the Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Penitentiary Affairs, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, stated that the draft Perppu would not yet be discussed. “Many have asked me about reports that the government plans to issue a Perppu related to economic matters. But we have never heard this matter being discussed, and it has never been raised with us. After I coordinated with the State Secretariat, there are indeed no such plans,” Yusril said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Friday, 13 March 2026.