Government Continues to Intensify Eradication of Online Gambling, PPATK Freezes 25 Thousand Suspicious Accounts
Jakarta – The government through the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) continues to strengthen its efforts to eradicate online gambling practices in Indonesia. One of the latest concrete efforts is the temporary suspension of more than 25 thousand bank accounts suspected of being involved in online gambling activities. The total balance of these accounts has reached a fantastic figure, namely more than IDR 1 trillion.
Head of PPATK, Ivan Yustiavandana, explained that this finding was based on monitoring carried out from 2023 to the present.
“Since 2023 until now, we have identified more than 25 thousand accounts with balances of more than IDR 1 trillion,” he said when giving a press statement.
According to Ivan, most of the frozen accounts are dormant or inactive accounts which are then controlled by other parties for illegal activities.
“The use of dormant accounts is a mode that is prone to misuse in illegal activities, including online gambling,” he explained.
Dormant is a banking term for an account that has been inactive for a certain period of time.
PPATK stated that this temporary suspension step is completely legal, referring to the authority regulated in Law Number 8 of 2010 concerning the Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering. In addition, this action is also part of the National Movement for the Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing.
“The temporary suspension of dormant account transactions aims to provide protection to account owners and prevent misuse by irresponsible parties,” said Ivan.
He also emphasized that online gambling not only damages the morals and social life of the community, but can also pose serious economic risks.
“The existence of online gambling in the community, its social impact will be damaging and the threat of capital outflow or money fleeing abroad which is detrimental to the Indonesian economy,” he added.
Furthermore, PPATK continues to collaborate across sectors and institutions to support the President’s Asta Cita in realizing a just and prosperous society, including in combating online gambling which is increasingly disturbing.
With this firm action, the government hopes to be able to narrow the scope of online gambling networks and protect the public from the negative impacts they cause.-
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