Prabowo Government Prepares Abolition Draft And Amnesty For Corruptors Who Return State Money

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections, Yusril Ihza Mahendra (ANTARA)

JAKARTA The government of President Prabowo Subianto is drafting a legal draft regarding the granting of abolitions and amnesty for perpetrators of corruption, provided that the full return of corruption results to the state is complete.

This policy aims to accelerate the recovery of state losses (asset recovery) and is in line with the UN Against Corruption Convention (UNCAC) which has been ratified by Indonesia through Law Number 7 of 2006.

"Later, people involved in corruption, whether being investigated, prosecuted, or who have been convicted, will be given abolition and amnesty if they return stolen state assets or pay compensation. This is to support the recovery of state assets," said the Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Saturday, December 21.

According to Yusril, this legal draft will take the form of a Presidential Decree (Keppres), which will set a deadline for returning state losses. For example, he mentioned a deadline of August 1, 2025 for corruptors to return the proceeds of their corruption.

All those who feel they are involved in corruption crimes, whether under investigation, investigation, trial proceedings, or those who have been sentenced to return state losses no later than August 1, 2025. Those who meet these requirements will be granted amnesty, "explained Yusril.

If they pass the time limit, the perpetrators will still be arrested, tried, or served their sentences according to the applicable legal rules.

Yusril gave an example of President Soekarno's amnesty policy to the perpetrators of the insurgency ofPRI and Permesta, where those who give up within a certain deadline get forgiveness. A similar approach is applied in abolitional and amnesty drafts for corruptors, with the aim of providing real benefits to the people.

"We want law enforcement related to eradicating corruption to produce direct benefits for the community. By returning the corrupted money, the funds will re-enter the state budget and be used for the benefit of the people," said Yusril.

Yusril explained that if a corruptor voluntarily returns the proceeds of corruption before the legal process runs, his name will not be announced to the public. This step is believed to encourage perpetrators to repent immediately without excessive social pressure.

This abolition and amnesty plan for corruptors is also part of a wider program to grant amnesty to 44,000 prisoners (convicts), most of whom are convicts of drug cases. However, corruption convicts will only get amnesty if they meet certain conditions that are being designed by the government.

"There are fewer corruption convicts than drug convicts. We have a record of who is processed and convicted," said Yusril.

This step, according to Yusril, is a strategy to improve the effectiveness of eradicating corruption. He emphasized that law enforcement is not only oriented to imprisonment, but also to the restoration of state assets for the benefit of the wider community.

"If corruptors are only imprisoned, what are the benefits for the people? With this abolition and amnesty, we prioritize the return of state losses so that the benefits are directly felt by the community," he concluded.