Money Laundering of Prostitution in the Perspective of the National Criminal Code: Between Criminal Policy and Social Protection

Abstract

This article analyzes the regulation of money laundering from prostitution from the perspective of the National Criminal Code, by highlighting the tension between repressive criminal policies and the need for social protection for victims of exploitation. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code and Law Number 8 of 2010 concerning the Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering Crimes regulate the relationship between moral offenses and money laundering offenses. This study uses normative legal methods with statutory and conceptual approaches, sourced from these two regulations and previous journal studies. The results of the study show that prostitution has been recognized as  a predicate crime of money laundering through Article 607 of the National Criminal Code, but its application has not been integrated with Article 420 and Article 421 which regulate the delicacy of facilitating prostitution, so that enforcement tends to stop at personal perpetrators without reaching the financial flow of the proceeds of crime. In addition, the existing policy still lacks a social protection perspective for victims who are in unequal power relations. Therefore, it is necessary to harmonize regulations and strengthen victim protection mechanisms so that law enforcement against money laundering from prostitution runs fairly and comprehensively.