Representatives of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Hong Kong visited the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) Red and White Building in Jakarta, Monday (25/2).

Led by Commissioner Simon Peh, the entourage was welcomed by KPK Chairs Agus Rahardjo, Laode Muhammad Syarif, Basaria Panjaitan and Alexander Marwata, as well as the entire KPK’s structural officials.

Agus said he was delighted to welcome ICAC Hong Kong again at KPK’s office. He said he was hoping the institution could provide important information and share experience on corruption eradication method.

“We believe there are plenty to be gained from our continuous correspondence and cooperation to ease our parallel fight against corruption in our respective countries,” he said.

Corruption modes have expanded, he said, with the criminals breaking regional boundaries and move the stolen assets and money through various means, including money laundering. Such complicated transaction, he said, cannot be handled by one country alone, but it takes good collaboration and synergy to handle transnational and organized corruption crime.

“Cooperation between institutions like ours are necessary in fighting modern corruption. Fighting corruption is a priority of Indonesia, and we are well aware that Hong Kong has taken important steps in this struggle,” he said.

Simon Peh said the visit was aimed to see KPK’s growth in eradicating corruption. It He said ICAC Hong Kong was keen to observe KPK’s consistency in charging and preventing corruption.

“KPK’s organizational structure seems to be expanded, not just in terms of enforcement, but also prevention, with the establishment of the anticorruption learning center and so on,” Peh said.

In the past two years, KPK has been working closely with ICAC, particularly in capacity building, benchmarking and case investigation. In 2016, ICAC came to KPK’s Office to share experience on forensic accounting, asset recovery and investigation technique. In 2017, three KPK officials attended the international seminar held by ICAC Hong Kong. KPK also actively participates in ICAC Hong Kong Command Course every year. Both institutions collaborated closely on enforcement.