KLHK Strengthens Environmental And Forestry Law Enforcement

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) emphasized that environmental and forestry crimes are serious crimes because they interfere with the welfare of the nation.

Director General of Environmental and Forestry Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Rasio Ridho Sani, said that his party was committed to strengthening the eradication of money laundering related to criminal acts from the environment and forestry by forming a joint team with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK).

"We formed a joint team in the context of investigating money laundering crimes related to the environment and forestry together between KLHK investigators and PPATK analysts," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, May 15.

Rasio explained that law enforcement against money laundering is one of the KLHK's efforts to increase the deterrent effect and target beneficiaries because by investigating money laundering, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry can follow the money follow the suspect.

Thus, we can snare the main perpetrators by using the Environmental and Forestry Law as well as the Money Laundering Crime Act.

"That is a step we must take, namely increasing the deterrent effect for environmental and forestry criminals, especially to beneficiaries," explained Rasio.

"We take steps to criminally launder money and criminal acts from this origin, which we can accelerate the recovery of losses to victims, in this case, especially the environment and the state," he added.

Rasio said that his party was investigating several environmental and forestry cases that indicated money laundering, both related to illegal logging and related to mining, as well as pollution and destruction of other environments.

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry has coordinated the environmental and forestry cases to PPATK.

The TPPU Joint Team has duties and responsibilities including compiling and implementing strategies for handling allegations of money laundering offenses from environmental and forestry crimes, including tracing and recovering assets derived from reports on the results of the analysis and examination submitted by PPATK.

The joint team also carried out formal and informal cooperation with other state partners in order to optimize the handling of allegations of money laundering offenses from environmental and forestry crimes.

Collaboration and consolidation with other countries for asset tracing

The crucial TPPU was carried out because the development of environmental and forestry crimes had become part of a transactional organized crime involving the use of technology in it.