DPR Plans to Revise Draft Bill on Asset Forfeiture

Draft Bill on Asset Forfeiture (“ Draft Bill on Asset Forfeiture ”) has yet to be discussed by the Government and Indonesia’s House of Representatives (“ DPR RI ”). The draft regulation may be subject to revision.

Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights, Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, stated that the government has not yet discussed the preparation of either the draft or the academic text of the Draft Bill on Asset Forfeiture. “We have not discussed it yet,” Edward told Hukumonline.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chair of the Legislative Body (“ Baleg ”) of DPR RI, Sturman Pandjaitan, revealed that the draft of the Draft Bill on Asset Forfeiture needs to be redrafted. He added that the DPR is open to taking over the deliberation process, which is currently under the authority of the government.

According to Sturman, the previous draft of Draft Bill on Asset Forfeiture contains numerous provisions that conflict with existing laws, including Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption Crimes (“ Tipikor ”), as amended by Law No. 20 of 2001 (collectively referred to as “ Law 31/1999 ”), and Law No. 8 of 2010 on the Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering (“ Law 8/2010 ”).

“What’s important is to ensure that it does not contradict or conflict with existing laws. The previous draft, for example, allowed for asset seizure even when someone had not yet been named a suspect and was only being questioned,” said Sturman.