“Becoming a FATF member is our main target next year,” Kiagus Ahmad Badaruddin, PPATK chairman, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. “We want to contribute to the international community's efforts to detect and eradicate cross-border cases of money laundering and terrorist financing.”

Established in 1989, the FATF is an intergovernmental organization comprising 39 members that focuses on establishing international legal, regulatory and operational standards to combat money laundering, which often occurs across borders. As a policymaking body, the FATF requires its members and affiliated organizations to adopt its regulations in order to protect the integrity of the international financial system.

Indonesia is the only G20 member that is not a full member of the FATF, although it was granted observer status in 2018. Indonesia is a member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), one of nine organizations affiliated with the FATF.

However, Kiagus added, observer status was not enough, as the country sought greater involvement in the FATF, especially in arranging international measures to combat money laundering.

He argued that all cross-border financial activities originating from Indonesia, a country with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of more than US$1 trillion, would have a considerable impact on the international financial system, meaning the country could play an important role in helping the FATF set policies and regulations.

FATF membership has given a big boost to countries’ efforts to combat money laundering.

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