The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 08/28/2010 11:51 AM

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/08/28/kpk-have-more-authority-moneylaundering-probes.html

The new anti-money laundering bill will give the antigraft body more authority to investigate cash flow in connection with corruption cases, a legislative team says.

With the current law, only the police and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) are authorized to probe such cases. Both institutions have drawn harsh criticism for their weak measures against corruption.

Azis Syamsuddin, a member of the legislative team in charge of formulating the bill, said Friday that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) would be vested with the authority if the new anti-money laundering bill passed this year.

Activists and experts have criticized the AGO and the police for a number of fiascoes in money-laundering cases in the past seven years.

“Under the new bill, the KPK can investigate allegations pertaining to criminal [money-laundering] offenses, as long as the commission has preliminary evidence of corruption in money-laundering cases,” Azis, a Golkar Party legislator, said.

Apart from conferring more power on the KPK, the bill would empower the role of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) in investigating suspicious financial transactions.

Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) legislator Irsal Yunus, who also helped to formulate the legislative draft, told The Jakarta Post that the bill would allow the PPATK to exercise more investigative functions regarding financial assessments.

The Democratic Party’s Harry Wicaksono, who is also on the legislative team, concurred.

He said that under the new bill, the PPATK would be able to request any financial institution to freeze suspected bank accounts linked to money-laundering activities. “However, legal investigations into such activities still fall under the jurisdiction of the police and the AGO.”

The PPATK is currently mandated to collect, analyze and disclose financial intelligence on suspected money-laundering cases and terrorist financing to only the police and the AGO.

During the bill formulation process Friday, the legislative team agreed to include an article that would endow the KPK with the power to demand that the PPATK disclose its reports to the antigraft commission.

Previously, major political parties such as the PDI-P, Golkar, the United Development Party, and the People’s Conscience Party, had opposed such a move.

Their opposition came under harsh criticism from other parties, including the Democratic Party, the National Awakening Party, the National Mandate Party and the Prosperous Justice Party. All believe that the new bill should enable the PPATK to refer money-laundering cases to the KPK in cases where the predicate crimes are classified as corruption, and to turn in its reports to the KPK, if requested.

Edison Betaubun from the Golkar Party said the reports submitted to the KPK would be in the form of copies, while the AGO and the police would obtain the original versions.

“It won’t be a problem if we receive only the copies, as long as the commission has the investigative authority [in money-laundering cases related to corruption],” KPK deputy chairman Chandra M. Hamzah said. (tsy)