House proposes asset forfeiture for forestry, human trafficking crimes

The House of Representatives (DPR) Commission III has suggested adding 13 types of criminal offenses to Indonesia's Asset Forfeiture Bill, encompassing issues such as corruption, drug trafficking, and human smuggling. Commission III Chairperson Habiburokhman explained that these offenses would be subject to asset forfeiture provisions outlined in the bill.

He noted concerns over the potential seizure of assets from ordinary citizens, but emphasized that the Indonesian Constitution ensures equality before the law. Habiburokhman explained that applying asset forfeiture to offenses beyond corruption was akin to practices in the UK, the US, and other countries. He stressed that the law must not be arbitrarily enforced against the public or used as a tool to extort individuals, criminalize political opponents, or silence critics.

Commission III sought to establish a strong oversight mechanism to prevent abuse of the proposed law, asserting that a credible law enforcement force was crucial. Habiburokhman emphasized that the implementation of the Asset Forfeiture Law would necessitate transparent and trustworthy law enforcement officials. The proposed 13 categories of offenses include corruption, drug and psychotropic offenses, terrorism, human smuggling, illegal trafficking of weapons, forestry-related offenses, environmental offenses, tax-related offenses, banking-related offenses, insurance-related offenses, mining-related offenses, maritime and fisheries-related offenses, and human trafficking.