Former KPK investigator warns asset seizure bill is not a “one-stop solution” to corruption

Indonesia’s proposed Asset Seizure Bill cannot fix corruption on its own, former Corruption Eradication Commission investigator Praswad Nugraha says. He supports the bill as one tool for strengthening enforcement, but warns against treating it as the answer to every problem.

Praswad says the bill’s effectiveness will depend on whether law-enforcement agencies improve their integrity. He argues that focusing too heavily on asset seizure could distract attention from a more fundamental weakness: corruption within the institutions responsible for enforcing the law.

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An Asset Seizure Bill must not be positioned as if it were a one-stop solution and the only answer to all problems in combating corruption.

“An Asset Seizure Bill must not be positioned as if it were a one-stop solution and the only answer to all problems in combating corruption,” Praswad said in a statement on Thursday.

He said asset-seizure powers would have little effect if officials authorized to investigate, seize assets, prosecute cases and issue rulings could still accept bribes or trade legal cases. “That is the same as putting a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of robbers,” he said.

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That is the same as putting a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of robbers.

Praswad also cautioned against allowing assets to be seized without a prior court ruling. Expanded powers of that kind, he said, could create serious problems without stronger integrity standards and oversight. “In the future, the power to seize assets without going through a trial could make those looters even more ferocious,” he said.

He called for law-enforcement integrity to become the priority and said stronger rules must be accompanied by zero tolerance for corruption committed by enforcement officials.

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In the future, the power to seize assets without going through a trial could make those looters even more ferocious.