ASSET RECOVERY POLICY IN THE DRAFT OF THE ASSET FORFEITURE BILL IN CORRUPTION CASES

Abstract

The criminal act of corruption, defined as the abuse of power for personal gain, is essentially a matter of social injustice. Corruption is considered an extraordinary crime because it is carried out in a systematic way, and the impact caused might adversely affect the economic life and national development. For this reason, handling cases of corruption requires extensive legal actions and extraordinary measures. The Corruption Eradication Law of the Republic of Indonesia regulates the process of returning assets resulting from corruption through civil and criminal channels, but asset returns in corruption cases are still considered to be not effective, as it takes long to pass a court decision. Taking into account the duration of asset seizure in the case of the criminal act of corruption, the idea emerged that asset seizure can be carried out before a court decision is passed, notably by way of applying the Asset Forfeiture Bill to raise the return on state financial losses. Thus, a breakthrough is needed to accelerate the discussion process concerning the Asset Forfeiture Bill which has gone through a long process of ratification since it was initiated in early 2010 and introduced into National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) 2023, so that it could be promptly discussed and passed by the Government and Parliament. This research is a legal study, which implies the analysis of laws and regulations, based on dogmatics, legal theory, and legal philosophy. The purpose of this article is to examine the provisions of Article 18 Para (1), (2), and (3) of the Law on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption No.31 (1999). Meanwhile, asset seizure through the civil route approach is also regulated in the provisions of Article 32 Para (1), Article 33, Article 34, and Article 38(C) of the Law No.31 (1999) with amendmends in Law No.20 (2001) on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption. The Asset Forfeiture Bill should be discussed and passed by the Government and Parliament as soon as possible, so that the return of state financial losses in cases of criminal acts of corruption could be enhanced.