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orruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chief Bambang Widjojanto has warned that the number of suspicious cash transactions involving vast amounts of money could increase in the run-up to the 2014 general election.

'The number of suspicious cash transactions has increased year after year as we move toward 2014,' Bambang said.

The KPK official said Bank Indonesia should immediately issue a regulation on a maximum amount for cash transactions.

The policy, he said, was crucial to combating graft as crooks usually avoided bank transactions, which could be monitored by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK).

'We should keep an eye on political parties' cash transactions near election years. We do not have a system that monitors the accountability of parties, which might prompt them to abuse their authority in collecting money,' Bambang said.

Andri Gunawan, a researcher from the Indonesian Legal Roundtable, said on Wednesday that most graft cases handled by the KPK involved cash transactions because it was the safest way for impropriety to be concealed.

'Of the 282 graft cases investigated by the KPK, 116 were bribery cases. Cash transactions are the safest mode for bribery. Why? Because by handing the money directly to someone, there is no evidence of the transaction,' Andri said. 'It is different when you transfer money to someone's bank account. The bank would record the activity, which could serve as evidence of bribery,' Andi said at the launch of Membatasi Transaksi Tunai (Limiting Financial Transactions), a book he co-wrote with Erwin Natosmal Oemar and Refki Saputra, two other law experts.

According to the PPATK, the amount of cash transactions has increased every year since 2008.

Cumulatively, the PPATK received 8,631,423 reports of cash transactions in 2010, 10,213,913 in 2011 and 12,365,555 in 2012.

PPATK staffer Budi Saiful Haris said that in order to reduce the possibility of bribery and money laundering prior to general elections, the government should create solid policies to limit cash transactions as soon as possible. 'Law No. 3/2011 regulates the transfer of funds, but the law does not regulate the maximum for cash transactions. The government needs to conduct research to determine an appropriate limit,' Budi said.

Budi also said the supervisory role of Bank Indonesia was essential to enforce any regulation on the maximum amount of cash transactions.

'Bank Indonesia needs to bare its teeth so that local banks comply with its regulations on cash transactions. Bank Indonesia needs to severely punish banks that allow cash transactions above the maximum amount,' Budi said.

'With this mechanism, banks would be more stringent in following BI rules,' Budi added. (ogi)