Supreme Court Reminds: The Elements Of State Losses In Corruption Cases Must Be Real, Not Estimated

JAKARTA - The Supreme Court (MA) emphasized that in corruption cases, state losses must be real, not limited to potential.

"The loss must be real, it is based on the Constitutional Court's Decision Number 25 of 2016, and has been announced by the BPK (Financial Audit Agency) that corruption must be real," said MA spokesman Yanto, quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, January 2.

Yanto explained that in the decision, the judge referred to Articles 2 and 3 of Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning Corruption Crimes (UU Corruption), which had been decided through the Constitutional Court Decision Number 25 of 2016.

In that decision, the Court argued that the application of elements of state losses should use the concept of actual loss (real loss) to provide fair legal certainty, as well as to harmonize national and international legal instruments.

When asked by journalists about potential state losses due to environmental damage to the case involving the defendant Harvey Moeis, Yanto stated that he could not discuss the case specifically.

However, he stressed that from a legal point of view, state losses due to environmental damage are still considered potential, not real losses.

"In theory, in criminal acts of corruption, state losses are no longer considered a potential loss, but must be an actual loss, which means the loss must be real. It is all based on the Constitutional Court Decision Number 25 of 2016, and announced by the BPK," he said.