TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A legal expert Herdiansyah Hamzah called upon the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) to investigate the report of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) that suggests money laundering may have been involved in the campaign funds for the 2024 election.

Herdiansyah said that campaign funding from illegal mining is a green financial crime. “Bawaslu's instincts should be strong, they cannot be soft, especially when dealing with power and investors,” the lecturer at the Mulawarman University’s Faculty of Law told Tempo on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023.

According to him, Law No. 7 of 2019 concerning elections explicitly states that the use of campaign funds derived from crime is a criminal offense. “So this is just a matter of Bawaslu's commitment and seriousness,” he added.

He cited Article 339 which prohibits election participants, campaign organizers, and campaign teams from receiving funds from the proceeds of crime, foreign parties, and unclear donors, including funds originating from the government, regional government, state enterprises, regional enterprises, village government, and village-owned enterprises (BUMDes).

According to Article 527, Herdiansyah said election participants proven to have received campaign funds raised from crimes could be sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison and a maximum fine of Rp36 million.

Earlier, PPATK uncovered a flow of campaign funds originating from illegal mining and the misuse of credit facilities at Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) in Central Java.

The loan disbursement supposed to be used for working capital for the debtors was allegedly used for the interests of party sympathizers, MIA. In 2022-2023, the total disbursement from BPR to the 27 accounts of the debtors reached Rp102 billion.

From the loan disbursement, cash withdrawals were made at or near the time of disbursement. The money was then deposited back into MIA's account. MIA is suspected of being the controlling party for the loan funds.

Ivan Yustiavandana, the head of PPATK, said that the total amount of money deposited into MIA's account from the loan disbursement reached Rp 94 billion. From MIA's account, the funds were transferred back to several companies such as PT BMG, PT PHN, PT BMG, PT NBM, several individuals, and Koperasi Garudayaksa Nusantara (KGN).

Several companies that receive loan funds through MIA accounts are affiliated with KGN. “We have previously revealed indications of [campaign funds derived from] illegal mining,” Ivan said on Friday, Dec. 15.

HAN REVANDA PUTRA

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