Jakarta Globe, Novianti Setuningsih, Mar 25, 2015
Jakarta. Indonesia’s anti-money laundering agency announced on Tuesday that it had detected funds believed to support terrorist activities flowing from Australia into the country.
Deputy Chairman Agus Santoso of the PPATK. (Antara Photo/Reno Esnir) |
Jakarta. Indonesia’s anti-money laundering agency announced on Tuesday that it had detected funds believed to support terrorist activities flowing from Australia into the country.
“We have
discovered funding activities from Australia to [terrorist] networks in
Indonesia,” said Agus Santoso, deputy chief of the Financial Transactions
Report and Analysis Center (PPATK).
He declined
to elaborate, saying only that the matter is still under investigation and the
agency is cooperating with its Australian counterpart.
“I can’t
reveal the exact figure, but it’s not in the millions [of dollars]. We can only
confirm that the funds came from Australia to support known radical
organizations in the country,” Agus said.
He declined
to name the group or any specific incidents the funds may be related to. He
also declined to comment on whether the case is connected to the recent wave of
Indonesians seeking to join the radical group Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and
Syria.
“We plan to
reach out to agencies [PPATK counterparts] abroad with efforts to cut
terror-related funding across the region, including those connected to IS,”
Agus said. “We will work with agencies from the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia,
Singapore and Australia.”
The
government has previously expressed concerns over the hundreds of Indonesians
fleeing the country to join IS’s cause, including 16 citizens arrested by
Turkish authorities earlier this month for trying to cross the border to Syria,
reportedly to support the militant group. They are scheduled to be deported
back to Indonesia this week.
Police
arrested five suspects over the weekend in Kebayoran Baru (South Jakarta),
Bogor (West Java), Tangerang (Banten) and Bekasi (West Java). The suspects are
accused of recruiting and financing Indonesian fighters for IS.
Among the
five still in custody is a man identified as Amin Mude, a resident of the
Legenda Wisata housing estate in Cileungsi, Bogor, who was previously arrested
in December for a similar case but was released a day later.
Amin had
been accused of aiding and abetting 12 Indonesians trying to reach Syria via
Turkey and is now believed to be the main financier for the 16 scheduled to be
deported by Turkish authorities.
The five
were found with firearms, passports, plane tickets and a combined $6,000 in
cash at the time of their arrests, according to Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen.
Unggung Cahyono.
At least Rp
7 billion ($ 540,189) is believed to have aided Indonesian IS fighters to
travel to Iraq, or Syria, the PPATK said.
“The
network is expanding exponentially. The funds raised reached at least Rp 7
billion. They are using all sorts of methods to raise cash, from selling herbal
medicine, books and even chemicals,” Agus said.
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