OJK asks banks to block 36 thousand accounts suspected of online gambling

DOK BETWEEN

JAKARTA - The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has asked banks to conduct enhanced due diligence (EDD) or blocking more than 36 thousand accounts that are suspected of being used for online gambling or online gambling as part of efforts to strengthen the eradication of financial crimes.

Head of the OJK Banking Supervisory Executive Dian Ediana Rae said that so far the OJK has asked banks to conduct EDD and/or blocking of approximately 36,191 accounts based on data submitted by the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi).

"Regarding the eradication of online gambling which has a wide impact on the economy and the financial sector, OJK has asked banks to conduct enhanced due diligence (EDD) and/or blocking of approximately 36,191 accounts that are suspected of engaging in online gambling activities based on data submitted by the Ministry of Communication and Digital," said Dian as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, July 7.

In addition to blocking the accounts that were indicated, Dian said OJK also asked banks to expand follow-up by closing other accounts that have matching National Identification Numbers (NIK) with parties suspected of being involved in online gambling activities.

He added that banks have also been asked to implement EDD on these accounts to ensure that customer profiles and activities comply with applicable regulations.

Dian said that this step was part of OJK's efforts to strengthen supervision of the use of banking systems for illegal activities that could potentially disrupt the stability of the financial sector and the economy.

The number of accounts that are requested to be blocked or subject to EDD has increased compared to the previous report which reached around 33,836 accounts. Thus, there is an addition of around 2,355 accounts that are included in the follow-up list based on data from Komdigi.

On the other hand, Komdigi also partnered with Meta to form a team to suppress the spread of online gambling promotional content on social media, as part of efforts to eradicate online gambling.