Recovering stolen assets - Thu, February 7 2019 - Jakarta Post

Indonesia, perceived to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and Switzerland, previously known for having one of the strongest banking secrecy policies and as a safe haven for ill-gotten gains, signed early this week a mutual legal assistance agreement (MLA) on tracing and recovering stolen assets.

Yet more significant for Indonesia, which was ruled for more than 30 years by a corrupt authoritarian government until 1998, is that the agreement is retroactive. This means that the MLA could also apply to corruption, money laundering, tax evasion and illegal monetary gains committed over the last four decades.

The government deserves high commendation for concluding the MLA, given the strong commitment of the Swiss government to protecting the secrecy and integrity of its financial services industry in maintaining its status as one of the world's largest financi...