YLKI Asks PPATK Not To Make It Difficult For Customers To Open To Block Dormant Accounts

Illustration: Photo: Doc. ANTARA

JAKARTA The Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI) expressed its concern about the steps taken by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) to block thousands of customer accounts which were considered inactive over the past three months.

This action is considered to cause unrest in the community and raise questions regarding the safety of consumer funds in banks.

YLKI Executive Secretary Rio Priambodo said several important points in response to the blocking step.

"YLKI asks PPATK to provide clear explanations to consumers for the cause of the blocking and steps for consumers affected by the blocking so that the consumer's basic right to information can be met by PPATK," Rio said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, July 29.

YLKI also asked PPATK for guarantees so that the process of blocking public accounts would not be complicated.

"PPATK must also ensure that the blocking opening process does not make it difficult for consumers, and ensure that the funds in the account remain intact and safe, not even reduced," continued Rio.

YLKI also emphasized that PPATK should be more selective in determining the account to be blocked.

According to Rio, not all inactive accounts mean suspicious.

Some customers deliberately allow their funds to settle for long-term purposes, such as education costs or retirement.

In addition, YLKI asked PPATK to notify first before the blocking was carried out.

This is important so that consumers do not feel harmed and can provide rebuttals if their accounts are not related to illegal activities such as criminal acts or online gambling.

"For this blocking, PPATK needs time to notify consumers before it is blocked so that consumers are informed and can mitigate their savings and consumers can argue if the account is safe and not used for criminal acts, especially regarding online gambling," he suggested.

Finally, YLKI urges PPATK to open a hotline service or crisis center that can be accessed by the public to obtain information and apply for recovery from accounts affected by blocking.

YLKI hopes that PPATK can respond to these steps soon in order to maintain public trust in the national financial system and protect consumer rights.

"Regarding blocking account accounts, YLKI asked PPATK to open a hotline crisis center for consumers who want to seek information or recover bank account accounts that are blocked," he said.

PPATK telah membekukan lebih dari 5.000 rekening yang terafiliasi dengan aktivitas judi online dengan nilai transaksi mencapai lebih dari Rp 600 miliar.

Langkah tegas ini merupakan bagian dari Gerakan Nasional Anti Pencucian Uang dan Pendanaan Terorisme (Gernas APU/PPT) yang digalakkan sebagai upaya kolaboratif lintas instansi dalam mencegah dan memberantas tindak pidana pencucian uang (TPPU) serta memperkuat peran masyarakat luas dalam memerangi maraknya praktik judi online.

PPATK has frozen more than 5,000 accounts affiliated with online gambling activities with a transaction value of more than IDR 600 billion.

This decisive step is part of the National Movement for Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (Gernas APU/PPT) which is promoted as a collaborative cross-agency effort in preventing and eradicating money laundering (TPPU) and strengthening the role of the wider community in fighting the rise of online gambling practices.