Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD, made the statement at the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group kick-off event, which was accessed online from Jakarta on Friday
"Cross-country and institutional cooperation is expected to surpass challenges to realizing an optimum recovery of assets obtained by criminal means, such as corruption. In this case, KPK and PPATK's role in enhancing global collaboration is essential," Mahfud said.
Such a collaboration is important for bolstering corruption eradication efforts, as asset recovery is one of the main indicators for assessing the success of such efforts, he explained. Meanwhile, cases of officials transferring assets—obtained through corrupt means in Indonesia—abroad are recurring, the coordinating minister noted.
"PPATK reports have revealed that the transfer of assets obtained from corrupt acts abroad is recurring. The asset is then withdrawn only when corruptors need it for personal purposes," he said.
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Mahfud highlighted that asset recovery is paramount in efforts to eradicate corruption, as most of the corrupt fear total asset confiscation, which would lead them to fall below the poverty line, more than imprisonment.
"Corruptors are not afraid of prison, but they are afraid of poverty," the coordinating minister underlined.
He then said that efforts to eradicate corruption must be taken to the next stage by collaboration at the international level, such as the G20 forum.
International collaboration would bolster Indonesian anti-corruption institutions' mission to track corrupt assets and various modus operandi employed by the corrupt to hide their assets, such as international trade, cash smuggling, and stock trading, he added.
The minister expressed the hope that Indonesia's G20 Presidency will motivate stakeholders to enhance the anti-corruption crusade.
"We hope Indonesia's G20 Presidency this year will motivate us to enhance our success in eradicating corruption for the best interest of Indonesia as a sovereign country in the G20 forum," Mahfud remarked.
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Translator: Tri Meilani A, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Suharto
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