Asset Recovery as a Criminal Law Enforcement Instrument for Recovering State Losses

Mario Marco

doi:10.58835/jspi.v6i4.828

Authors

Mario Marco Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Jakarta

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58835/jspi.v6i4.828

Keywords:

Asset Recovery; Criminal Law Enforcement; Corruption; State Financial Losses; Confiscation;

Abstract

This study examines the role of asset recovery in criminal law enforcement and the legal mechanisms available to recover losses to state finances in Indonesia. It applies normative legal research using statutory and conceptual approaches. The primary legal materials include Indonesia’s anti-corruption legislation, the Mutual Legal Assistance Law, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption, supported by legal scholarship, academic publications, and relevant institutional documents. The findings indicate that asset recovery has become an important part of criminal law enforcement because it shifts the focus beyond the punishment of offenders toward the recovery of unlawful economic benefits and the restoration of state financial losses. In practice, asset recovery may involve asset tracing, seizure, confiscation, replacement-money orders, asset management, execution, and international cooperation when assets are transferred or held abroad. These mechanisms give asset recovery repressive, restorative, and preventive functions. However, its implementation still faces several challenges, including the concealment and transfer of assets, evidentiary difficulties, weak coordination among institutions, problems in managing confiscated property, and cross-border jurisdictional barriers. The study concludes that stronger regulations, better financial investigation capacity, improved institutional coordination, effective asset management, and closer international cooperation are needed to make asset recovery more effective in restoring state financial losses.

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