TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Lawmakers back minister’s plan to investigate suspicious payments
Change Size
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD (center), who is serving as the head of the Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering (TPPU); Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati (left); and Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) chairman Ivan Yustiavandana prepare to give a press statement on the investigation into some Rp 349 trillion (US$23.4 billion) worth of suspicious payments flagged at the Finance Ministry, at the PPATK headquarters in Jakarta on April 10. (Antara/Asprilla Dwi Adha)
H
ouse of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs has lent its support to a joint task force formed by a senior minister to dig into some Rp 349 trillion (US$23.4 billion) in suspicious payments that have been flagged at the Finance Ministry.
Coordinating Legal, Political and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD announced the creation of the task force on Monday. It will prioritize an investigation into the alleged laundering of Rp 189 trillion through imports of gold bars.
The team consists of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), the Finance Ministry, the National Police, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the State Intelligence Agency and Mahfud’s own office.
Commission III chairman Bambang Wuryanto of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said on Tuesday that the investigation should begin and asked that investigators periodically report to lawmakers.
“The House Commission III fully supports the creation of the task force,” he said.
The lawmakers’ show of support came at a Tuesday meeting between the commission and government officials, including Mahfud, who leads the Money Laundering Prevention and Eradication Committee, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and PPATK head Ivan Yustiavandana.
Mahfud said he welcomed the support of the lawmakers, adding that the joint task force was different from the money laundering committee, as the task force was an ad hoc team focused only on the suspicious transactions in question.
