Anti-Money Laundering Agency PPATK Detects 7,000 Gambling Transactions Linked to House Members

Jakarta. The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) has detected over 7,000 transactions on gambling websites involving members of the House of Representatives and employees of the House Secretariat.

Gambling is a crime under Indonesian law, punishable by up to six years’ imprisonment.

PPATK Chairman Ivan Yustiavandana said on Wednesday that data about these gambling transactions, allegedly involving House members and employees, will be handed over to the Ethics Council once the government gives the order.

“Overall, gambling transactions involving members of the House of Representatives and regional legislative councils total 63,000. But within the House alone, we have detected around 7,000 transactions,” Ivan said during a hearing with the House’s legal and security affairs commission at the parliament building in Jakarta.

“The total value of these transactions nearly reached Rp 25 billion ($1.5 million), with individual transactions ranging from hundreds of millions to billions per person.”

Ivan added that more than 1,000 House members and local councilors were involved in online gambling.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s government has launched a crackdown on online gambling by establishing an inter-agency task force to track down and close gambling websites, freeze their accounts, and arrest suspected gamblers.

During the hearing, House member Johan Budi questioned the follow-up actions of the PPATK’s findings.

“What will the task force do after this? The findings surprised the public, but what’s next, Mr. Ivan?” Johan asked.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician suggested that the task force take serious measures against gambling operators by freezing their accounts and taking down their websites.

Johan expressed his surprise at learning that online gambling in Indonesia involved Rp 600 trillion ($36.5 billion) in bet money.

“The PPATK is part of the task force, which shouldn’t stop at merely making announcements. It must take concrete actions,” Johan said.

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