KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, on Wednesday (April 17)  urged the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) and other ministries/agencies to anticipate new modes of money laundering crimes.

Jokowi stated that the handling of money laundering must be comprehensive. He believes that Indonesia needs to stay ahead of money launderers by strengthening international cooperation, enhancing regulations and transparency in law enforcement, and utilizing important technologies.

"We must remain vigilant of new technology-based patterns in money laundering, such as cryptocurrency, virtual assets, NFTs, market place activities, electronic money, AI used for transaction automation, and others, as technology is rapidly evolving," Jokowi said during the 22nd Anniversary of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prevention Movement (APU PPT) at the State Palace, Wednesday (April 17).

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This is not without reason, Jokowi mentioned that according to the crypto crime report data, there are indications of money laundering through these crypto assets amounting to US$ 8.6 billion or equivalent to IDR 139 trillion globally in 2022.

In response to this, Tokocrypto CEO, Yudhono Rawis, acknowledged that digital assets or crypto are still associated with Money Laundering Crimes (TPPU), which is a crime trend in today's digital era. However, he believes that any technology has the potential for misuse.

“We believe that the blockchain technology underlying crypto assets can actually facilitate the tracking of suspicious transactions like TPPU. The transparent nature of the blockchain that is accessible to the public, traceable and difficult to alter can aid in the prevention and tracing of criminal transactions,” Yudhono told Kontan.co.id, Wednesday (April 17).

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According to him, the anticipation of crime in the crypto industry in Indonesia has significantly improved with regulations from the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) and PPATK.

Furthermore, Yudhono stated that business operators in Indonesia are also required to implement the Know Your Customer (KYC) process by asking for complete investor identities, Travel Rules for transaction transparency, and daily transaction audit reporting to Bappebti and PPATK.

“Tokocrypto has taken numerous steps to prevent suspicious transactions, such as TPPU. We are committed to complying with applicable regulations, thus receiving an award from PPATK in the Financial integrity Rolling on Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (FIR on ML/T) measurement,” he added. 

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Additionally, he stated that they also collaborate with the Indonesian National Police (Polri) to conduct Crypto Investigations Training for Law Enforcement.

Yudhono mentioned that this initiative aims to combat crimes in the digital asset industry by providing training and enhancing the capabilities of law enforcement officers to better understand how crimes targeting crypto assets can occur.

Editor: Syamsul Azhar