Money Laundering Proceeds of Tax Crimes in the Perspective of the National Criminal Code: Strengthening Law Enforcement and Recovering State Losses

Abstract

Tax-related crime has become one of the most serious threats to Indonesia's fiscal resilience, as it erodes state revenue and is frequently exploited as a predicate crime for money laundering through placement, layering, and integration schemes that increasingly cross jurisdictional borders. This study aims to analyze the legal arrangement of money laundering originating from tax crimes under the National Penal Code (Law Number 1 of 2023) and the Anti-Money Laundering Law (Law Number 8 of 2010), and to formulate strategies for strengthening law enforcement and state loss recovery. The research employs a normative-juridical method using statutory and conceptual approaches, with primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials analyzed descriptively-analytically and concluded deductively. The results show that tax crime is explicitly positioned as a predicate offense, with core laundering provisions reformulated under the National Penal Code alongside corporate criminal liability and beneficial-owner accountability, though harmonization between the two regimes remains incomplete. Strengthening enforcement requires a follow-the-money paradigm oriented toward asset recovery, supported by inter-agency intelligence sharing among the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, the Directorate General of Taxes, the Attorney General's Office, and the Police. The study concludes that regulatory harmonization and prompt enactment of the Asset Forfeiture Bill are essential, and recommends future empirical research using comparative cross-jurisdictional case studies to measure asset recovery effectiveness.