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Indonesian President Joko Widodo warns against money laundering through cryptocurrencies and NFTs
Indonesian President Joko Widodo warned the Financial Transactions Reporting and Analysis Center (PPATK) to monitor the use of cryptographic and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for money laundering during a speech last Wednesday to mark the 22nd anniversary of the Movement National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Center at the State Palace, Jakarta.
The President said he was aware of indications of money laundering through crypto assets amounting to $8.6 billion (IDR 139 trillion) in 2021, referring to data from the 2022 Report on the cryptographic crime On-Chain Analysis,
“This amount, equivalent to 139 trillion rupiah globally, is not only large – it is extremely large,” Widodo said during his speech. “We need to act quickly and stay ahead of the curve. Otherwise, we will continually fall behind,” he added.
Besides cryptocurrencies and NFTs, the president – affectionately nicknamed “Jokowi” – also highlighted the need to monitor other potential money laundering tools, including virtual assets, market activities, currency electronics and AI-based transactions.
In response to the president’s directive, Mahendra Siregar, chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Financial Services Authority (OJK), said his agency will oversee these concerns during the transition of crypto regulation to the OJK this year. next.
“In due course, as members of the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Team, we will have the authority to monitor these issues, particularly if their use overlaps with the services of other financial institutions,” he said. Mahendra said. said Wednesday to journalists during a press conference.
Currently, crypto assets in Indonesia are considered commodities and are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti). According to Law Number 4 of 2023, the supervision of crypto assets will be transferred to the Financial Services Authority (OJK) in January 2025.
New president
In terms of government support, Indonesia’s new leaders are showing a clear stance on crypto. During the February 2024 elections, the new elected official The President and Vice President, Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, have openly expressed keen interest in crypto.
Gibran, the son of current President Widodo, vocally emphasized that Indonesia needs blockchain and crypto experts to advance the country’s tech sector during the election campaign, while Prabowo and Vice President of the national campaign of Gibran, Erwin Aksa, previously mentioned that Prabowo and Gibran will improve tax compliance monitoring for crypto assets, as many are non-compliant when it comes to tax reporting. The official inauguration of Prabowo and Gibran is scheduled for October 20, 2024.
Editor’s note: Joko Widodo and Mahendra Siregar’s comments were translated from Indonesian.