RI urged to sign pact on money laundering

RI urged to sign pact on money laundering

SEMARANG (JP): Noted legal expert Muladi said yesterday that Indonesia should quickly ratify the 1988 international convention on money laundering and enact legislation accordingly.

Muladi, the rector of the Diponegoro University, said in a law seminar that failure to ratify the convention could lead to Indonesia becoming isolated in the international banking community.

Indonesia, he said, is already an easy target for the international money laundering syndicates because of the virtual absence of any laws that bar such practices.

The two-week seminar brings together more than 100 legal experts from various law schools in Indonesia to review the country's present criminal laws.

Muladi warned that money laundering transcends national border. "Indonesia must follow other countries in making money laundering a crime," he said.

Legal experts have earlier said the Indonesian banking law which guarantees banking secrecy, including the origins of any fund deposited with local banks, made the country an ideal transit point for people laundering their ill-gotten gains.

Most experts and officials believe that money laundering is already widely practiced in the country although none have been able to support this with any evidence yet.

Muladi urged the legal experts yesterday to keep track of the rapid changes in the world of crime, including money laundering, so that they can provide timely and effective solutions to problems that affect into Indonesia.

Romli Atmasasmita, a criminal law expert with the Padjadjaran University in Bandung, told the seminar that Indonesia's criminal laws should not only deal with current problems but they should be capable of anticipating and dealing with new problems in the future.

He said the trend in the crime world now is to expand beyond national borders. (har/emb)