Team finalizes amendment of money-laundering law
Team finalizes amendment of money-laundering law
A'an Suryana and Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Working under a tight schedule, a team consisting of legislators and government officials has finished debating amendments to the money laundering law, with the final draft set to be passed into law on Sept. 16.
The 35-man team agreed on the revision of a number of clauses in the prevailing law to bring the law into line with international standards. The team will seek approval of the amendments from House of Representatives Commission IX on legal affairs, said Yunus Husein, chairman of the Financial Transaction and Report Analysis Center (PPATK).
PPATK officials joined the team, along with officials from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and legislators from the commission.
"The debate went well and we've managed to settle contentious clauses in time. A plenary session has been scheduled for Sept. 16. We'll have a new law (on money laundering) by then," Yunus told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, saying discussions had been taking place since last weekend.
Backing up Yunus's remarks, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra confirmed that deliberations had been completed.
The completion of the debates should provide some respite for the government, which has been under pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) -- a powerful global antimoney- laundering watchdog -- to complete the process by the end of September at the latest, or the country risks international sanctions.
Yunus and Yusril shared the same view that, by beating the deadline, Indonesia has a good chance of avoiding sanctions, which include higher risk premiums imposed on local firms when making transactions with international firms; termination of correspondence alliances between local banks and banks in member countries of FATF; and the rejection of letters of credit (L/Cs) issued by local banks.
"Should everything go as scheduled, Indonesia will definitely avoid those sanctions," Yunus said, adding that an Indonesian delegation would meet with FATF officials in Macau on Sunday to give an update on the progress here.
The Macau meeting is a prelude of an upcoming annual convention of FATF -- a global grouping working under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) -- which is slated for early October in Paris.
However, even with the amendments, it is unlikely that Indonesia will be immediately removed from FATF's list of uncooperative nations in the fight against money laundering, according to Yunus, because the global agency would need more time to assess whether the new law had been truly implemented.
Indonesia is currently listed as one of the countries deemed uncooperative in combating money-laundering activities.
Crucial points in the amendments
1. Banks and other financial institutions are required to report suspicious transactions within three days, as compared to the 14 days in the current law.
2. Termination of a clause that requires banks or financial institutions to report to the authorities only if they find suspicious transactions of at least Rp 500 million. This means that suspicious transactions must be reported regardless of the amount involved.
3. An additional clause that bans banks and financial institutions from leaking information about the reported transactions to other parties. Violation of this risks fines or in some cases a jail term.