Authority of Prosecutors in Enforcing Money Laundering Crimes in Strategic Economic Cases
Keywords:
money laundering, asset recovery, prosecutorial authority, strategic economic crimes, evidentiary constructionAbstract
Abstract
Money laundering in strategic economic crimes requires a law enforcement approach that goes beyond punitive sanctions and prioritizes asset recovery to restore state financial losses. This study examines the evidentiary construction of money laundering offenses in the commodity trading case involving PT Timah Tbk. and evaluates the effectiveness of an asset recovery–oriented approach in recent law enforcement practices. The research applies a normative legal method through statutory and case approaches, supported by library research as the primary data collection technique. The analysis highlights the expansion of admissible evidence, including the recognition of electronic evidence under the Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) and the Law on Electronic Information and Transactions (Indonesia), as well as prosecutorial authority under Law Number 11 of 2021 on the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Indonesia. The findings indicate that incorporating money laundering charges into indictments broadens the evidentiary scope to include placement, layering, and integration stages, thereby enabling broader asset tracing and control. However, the disparity between state losses and assets successfully recovered demonstrates that the effectiveness of asset recovery remains structurally limited in achieving proportional and sustainable economic restitution.
Keywords: money laundering; asset recovery; prosecutorial authority; strategic economic crimes; evidentiary construction.
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