Jakarta (Indonesia), 13 October 2022 - Indonesia has established a central registry of beneficial owners, following the enactment of Presidential Regulation No.13/2018. All types of corporations are required to report to the registry, which is hosted by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. Additionally, Indonesia has listed compliance with Beneficial Ownership (BO) Disclosure laws as a key priority under the National Strategy on Corruption. This was done with the aim of prioritizing the availability of accurate and integrated data on BO that can be accessed by the public. Unfortunately, thus far there has been slow progress on the reporting of beneficial owners, as less than 30% of the total number of corporations registered in Indonesia have complied with the regulation.
In order to promote reporting of BO information by companies, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, Transparency International Indonesia, and the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, jointly organized a Public-Private Dialogue on Beneficial Ownership Disclosure on the 13th of October in Jakarta.
The workshop gathered over 190 participants from various backgrounds, including the Chambers of Commerce of important industries in Indonesia (i.e., extractive, plantation, agriculture, and health industries), notaries, lawyers, government representatives and civil society organizations. This activity successfully facilitated honest communication and discussion between the government and businesses regarding beneficial ownership disclosure and management and identified challenges and impediments faced by the private sector when disclosing BO information.
Speakers at the event discussed issues such as digitalization and sharing of data as tools to assist the government in using BO information to prevent corruption and money laundering; experiences and challenges in identifying, disclosing, and managing BO information; the potential benefits for society of having access to beneficial ownership information, especially in monitoring public procurement, industrial licensing, and conflicts of interest.
Representatives of the private sector highlighted the need for clear compliance requirements for BO disclosure applicable to all companies and the importance of transparency of the system to ensure a level playing field for all corporations. Results of a survey conducted during the workshop demonstrate that the private sector expects better assistance and guidance from the government to comply with BO disclosure regulations.
This training was part of ongoing activities conducted by UNODC in the fight against fraud and corruption across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Footage (where available) and written summaries of UNODC events are publicly available via our website.
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