PPATK blocks 5,000 bank accounts linked to online gambling 

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) has blocked five thousand bank accounts, both individual and group, linked to online gambling cases.

Public relations group coordinator for PPATK, Natsir Kongah, said on Saturday that he could not confirm the exact value of transactions made via the bank accounts.

“So far, we have blocked five thousand accounts…the accumulation since the (PPATK) head said it is that in the first quarter of 2024, it has reached Rp600 trillion (around US$36.39 billion),” he informed during an online discussion on the impact of online gambling.

Most of the funds from the bank accounts flowed to ASEAN countries, such as Thailand, the Philippines, and Cambodia.

He further revealed that around 80 percent of the 3.2 million online gambling players who have been identified so far bet more than Rp100 thousand (around US$6.07) on average.

The profiles of those who play online gambling vary and range from students and university students to even housewives.

“If, for example, the family’s income is Rp200 thousand (around US$12.13) per day, if they use Rp100 thousand for online gambling, it will significantly reduce the family’s nutritional fulfillment,” he said.

Reports about online gambling account for the largest share of suspicious financial transaction reports received by PPATK, namely at 32.1 percent, followed by fraud (25.7 percent) and other criminal acts (12.3 percent), while 7 percent of the complaints concern corruption.

On June 14, 2024, the Indonesian government issued a presidential decree on the formation of an online gambling eradication task force chaired by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Hadi Tjahjanto.

The task force has been formed to address online gambling since it is not only illegal, but can also lead to financial losses and cause social and psychological disturbances, which can lead to crime.

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