JAKARTA – In an effort to eradicate online gambling (judol) practices in Indonesia, the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK) has blocked 6,400 accounts suspected of being involved in these illegal activities and also tracked the funds flowing into the accounts.
“We ask banks to investigate these accounts more closely if there are suspicious financial reports. Transactions from the specified accounts may also be temporarily suspended,” said the head of the OJK’s Sharia banking department, Deden Firman Hendarsyah, according to a report by ANTARA on Monday, August 19.
Deden said the account blocking measure was the start of a broader strategy. The OJK called on banking institutions to thoroughly investigate suspicious accounts.
“With this step, we not only want to stop transactions, but also more closely track the money flows behind online gambling practices,” he said.
He said the blocking not only targets individual accounts but also institutions involved in online gambling, noting that the biggest challenge is the number of accounts related to online gambling that use false identities or proceeds from buying and selling accounts.
“So far, we have only blocked accounts used on online gambling websites,” Deden said.
According to him, cases of buying and selling accounts are becoming more frequent, making it increasingly difficult for authorities to determine the original identity of the account holder.
“There are almost no reports from the public asking why their accounts are blocked, which complicates the investigation process,” he said.
OJK has been working with the parties involved to determine the next steps regarding the funds in the account and whether or not they can be seized by the state.
“We cannot take immediate legal action outside of financial institutions, but we are working with the parties involved to monitor suspicious money flows,” he said.
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