Six Urgencies of the Asset Forfeiture Bill According to Fahira Idris

MPR member from the DPD RI representing Jakarta, Fahira Idris, has welcomed the acceleration of deliberations on the Asset Forfeiture Bill related to criminal offences, which is targeted for enactment by December 2026 at the latest.

According to Fahira, the presence of this regulation is crucial for strengthening the eradication of economically motivated crimes, including corruption, by ensuring that perpetrators cannot enjoy the proceeds of their crimes.

“I support the target for completing the Asset Forfeiture Bill. We need a legal instrument capable of ensuring that crime does not generate profit for its perpetrators,” said Fahira on Wednesday (26/8/2026).

According to Fahira, there are at least six urgencies that make the Asset Forfeiture Bill important to complete immediately.

First, ensuring that the proceeds of crime can be confiscated by the state. Imprisonment alone is insufficient if perpetrators or their networks can still enjoy, conceal, transfer, or bequeath the proceeds of crime. Therefore, law enforcement orientation must be increasingly focused on asset recovery.

“In addition to being convicted, the proceeds of their crimes must also be pursued. The state must not succeed in punishing the person but fail to recover the wealth obtained from the crime,” said the Jakarta Senator.

Second, closing loopholes when criminal proceedings cannot be completed. One of the important substances being discussed in this bill is the non-conviction based forfeiture mechanism, namely asset forfeiture under certain conditions without depending on a criminal conviction against the perpetrator.

This mechanism is relevant, among other things, when a suspect dies, flees, is untraceable, or when there are assets derived from criminal acts that have not yet been confiscated.

Third, severing the economic power of criminal networks. Fahira believes that asset forfeiture, in addition to corruption, should also apply to various other economically motivated crimes such as money laundering, narcotics, organised crime, and other offences that generate economic profit.

Asset pursuit is important because the proceeds of crime can be reinvested to finance operations, expand networks, or disguise illegal activities. UNODC (the UN Office on Drugs and Crime) affirms that confiscating the proceeds of crime is a strategic step to sever the financial power of criminal networks, hinder the continuity of their operations, and provide a deterrent effect.

“If we want to weaken criminal networks, we must also cut off their economic sources. Pursuing money, assets, and illegal profits is as important as arresting the perpetrators,” said Fahira.

Fourth, strengthening Indonesia’s ability to recover assets taken abroad. Economic crime is increasingly transnational.

Funds from corruption and other criminal acts can be moved through accounts, companies, assets, and various financial instruments across multiple jurisdictions.

Indonesia has ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which places asset recovery as a fundamental principle and encourages the broadest possible international cooperation in tracing and recovering assets. UNCAC also encourages states to consider non-conviction based forfeiture mechanisms under certain conditions, such as when the perpetrator dies, flees, or cannot be prosecuted.

Fifth, ensuring that confiscated assets genuinely return benefits to society. Fahira believes that success must not stop when assets are successfully seized or confiscated.

The state also needs a professional management system so that assets do not deteriorate, lose value, become neglected, or become a source of new problems.

“Assets from crime that are returned to the state must be managed transparently and provide real benefits. The orientation is to recover losses and restore economic value to the state and society,” said Fahira.

Sixth, building a firm mechanism that still guarantees due process of law. Fahira emphasised that the extensive authority to block, seize, and confiscate assets must be accompanied by equally strong legal safeguards.

Indonesia, she continued, needs a law that makes the state strong in confronting the proceeds of crime. Such strong authority must always be balanced with judicial oversight and transparency.

Fahira hopes that the remaining deliberations until December will be used to refine the substance while continuing to open public participation. According to her, the public’s strong support for the Asset Forfeiture Bill must be answered with a law that is effective, fair, and leaves no room for abuse of authority.

“When it is enacted, this Asset Forfeiture Law must become part of strengthening the overall ecosystem for eradicating corruption and economic crime, from prevention, tracing of fund flows, prosecution of perpetrators, asset recovery, to the management of confiscated proceeds,” said Fahira.

For information, Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives has confirmed that the drafting of the Asset Forfeiture Bill will be completed and enacted at the DPR plenary session in December. Commission III Chairman Habiburokhman stated that the DPR has approximately eight weeks of sitting time to complete all stages from harmonisation to the first-level approval coordination meeting.