The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) has sparked public controversy over its policy of blocking “idle” bank accounts. Hundreds of millions of accounts that have shown no activity in the past three months were classified as dormant or inactive. The measure was said to be aimed at preventing criminal misuse of dormant accounts for illegal activities, such as money laundering and account trading.
Although 122 million accounts have now been reopened, the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Universitas Gadjah Mada (Fisipol UGM) lecturer Professor Wahyudi Kumorotomo said the PPATK’s move represents a form of “brute-force” policy, a trial-and-error approach that fails to consider many important aspects.
“This is not the first time the government has issued policies that lack maturity. Time and again, the public has seen that decisions made by the current administration are unprofessional. If such actions are allowed to happen repeatedly, they risk further eroding the president’s legitimacy,” he said on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025.
The total value of bank accounts held by Indonesians is significant.
According to PPATK’s report, the total value of blocked accounts reached IDR 428.61 billion.
Behind these figures lie various reasons why accounts become inactive for more than three months, such as promotional account openings, accounts created for bank service demonstrations, disbursement of social aid, or simply because some customers forgot they had opened an account at a particular bank.
These factors, Professor Kumorotomo noted, were overlooked by the government.
“There is indeed a risk that idle accounts could be misused for proceeds from online gambling or money laundering. However, blocking them without understanding why they became dormant is not a wise move,” he said.
He added that the government has been unable to properly apply the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) procedure, which would allow early anticipation of a policy’s negative impacts.
As a result, the public has once again become a victim of government policy.
If the aim is truly to detect or prevent misuse of accounts for illegal activities, PPATK should work with institutions overseeing financial activities, such as the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and the banking sector.
This would require recording and categorizing accounts based on their transaction history from opening to recent months.
Such analysis would provide a clearer picture of whether blocking is necessary.
“The technology to identify such accounts should already be available, and banking institutions should have complete customer information to trace these dormant accounts,” Professor Kumorotomo explained.
Although hundreds of millions of accounts have now been restored, evaluations remain necessary.
Policies, he stressed, should be implemented in a structured and deliberate manner.
Account holders also have the right to full transparency over their own accounts.
Professor Kumorotomo suggested that the government must improve its policymaking system, not only for account blocking cases but across the board.
Well-considered decisions would lead to better policy implementation with risk mitigation measures in place, eliminating the need for “blanket policies” or non-transparent decisions.
Actions taken without thorough consideration, he warned, would result in inefficiency and reduce the government’s credibility and visibility in the public eye.
Author: Tasya
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Lintang Andwyna
Illustration: Freepik