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Sanctions and Compliance Regulations in Indonesia Need Improvement, Says FATF Evaluation
Indonesia’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing have received praise from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in its recent mutual evaluation report. However, the country still needs to address several shortcomings in its sanctions and compliance regulations.
Positive Efforts by Indonesia
Indonesia has a robust legal framework for tackling money laundering and terrorist financing, and is making good use of financial intelligence and domestic and international cooperation. The country’s three main financial supervisory authorities have also proactively developed their Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) frameworks.
Key Strengths
- Robust legal framework for tackling money laundering and terrorist financing
- Good use of financial intelligence and domestic and international cooperation
- Proactive development of AML/CFT frameworks by three main financial supervisory authorities
Areas for Improvement
Despite these efforts, the FATF has identified several areas where Indonesia needs to improve. These include:
Asset Recovery
Indonesia needs to improve its asset recovery processes, particularly when it comes to assets located abroad or those linked to forestry or environmental crimes.
Risk-Based Supervision
While banks and larger financial institutions have a good understanding of the risks they face, this is not consistently the case in other sectors. Indonesia needs to ensure that risk-based supervision is implemented across all sectors.
Proportionate and Dissuasive Sanctions
Indonesia needs to improve its proportionate and dissuasive sanctions for money laundering and terrorist financing offenses.
Other Areas of Improvement
In addition, Indonesia has been praised for its efforts to combat terrorist financing, including a focus on returning foreign terrorist fighters and de-radicalisation. However, the country still needs to:
Improve Understanding of Non-Profit Sector Risk
Indonesia needs to improve its understanding of the risk of abuse of its non-profit sector for terrorism financing.
Take Proportionate Measures
The country needs to take proportionate measures without discouraging or disrupting legitimate charitable activities.
Conclusion
Overall, while Indonesia has made significant progress in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, there is still much work to be done to ensure that its sanctions and compliance regulations are effective.