Jakarta. The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) clarified on Tuesday that settling corruption cases through financial payments is not recognized under Indonesia’s existing anti-corruption laws.

The statement came in response to the Prabowo Subianto administration's proposal to pardon graft suspects or convicts who return stolen state assets.

AGO spokesman Harli Siregar explained that while financial settlements are allowed in cases such as unpaid customs taxes or tax evasion, this approach does not extend to corruption.

“This kind of settlement is stipulated in the 2021 law on the prosecutor's office authority, but it does not apply to corruption cases,” Harli said.

He added that if the government intends to proceed with pardoning corruption suspects and convicts to focus on asset recovery, relevant laws would need to be amended to accommodate such financial settlements.

President Prabowo has previously expressed plans to pardon graft convicts who return stolen assets in full.

Defending the proposal, Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, and Correctional Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra argued that the legal system should shift its focus from punishment to recovering state losses. He criticized the current punitive approach, saying it has not effectively deterred corruption.

“After decades of focusing on punitive measures, it’s clear we need a new approach to address this persistent issue,” Yusril said. He also emphasized that the president’s authority to grant pardons is enshrined in Article 14 of the 1945 Constitution.

In a separate statement, Justice Minister Supratman Andi Agtas echoed support for financial settlements in handling corruption cases, aligning with the president’s directives.