ronald waas : coordinated handling of payment system and currency exchange crime speech by mr ronald waas, deputy governor of bank indonesia, at the signing ceremony for cooperation between the bank indonesia representative office and police department in riau islands province concerning “ coordinated handling of payment system and currency exchange crime ”, batam, 22 october 2014. * * * honourable, • deputy governor of riau islands province ; dr soerya respationo, sh, mh ; • chief of the criminal investigation agency of the republic of indonesia, suhardi alius ; • leaders of the national police • – wadir. tipideksus, kombes rohmat sunanto ; – kasubdit upal, kombes agus nugroho ; – kabag kerjasama antar lembaga – divkum polri, kombes syahri gunawan ; – kapolda kepri ; brigjen polisi drs. arman depari ; leaders of bank indonesia representative offices and departments – head of the bank indonesia representative office in area viii, mahdi mahmudy ; – head of the bank indonesia representative office in riau islands provice, gusto rizal eka ; – executive director of the payment system supervision and policy department ; – executive director of the money management department ; – executive director of the legal affairs department ; – executive director of the communication department ; – expert staff of the board of governors, hari utomo ; • members of the riau islands leaders ’ communication forum ; • mayor of batam, h. ahmad dahlan, mh ; • as well as all those in attendance. good morning to you all, 1. first, let us praise god almighty for blessing us here in attendance at such a salubrious setting to witness the signing of an agreement between the bank indonesia representative office and the police department here in riau islands concerning “ coordinated handling of payment system and currency exchange crime ”, also known as money changers. 2. such activity represents an integral part of institutional coordination between bank indonesia and the national police, formalised in a memorandum of understanding ( mou ) concerning “ cooperation to support task implementation and institutional authority ” signed by the governor of bank indonesia and the chief of police on 1st september 2014. bis central bankers ’ speeches 3. that memorandum of understanding ( mou ) was followed by the signing of working guidelines between bank indonesia and the criminal investigation

, amongst others, triggered greater domestic demand for foreign currencies. the large foreign currency requirement for domestic bis central bankers ’ speeches transactions has left the economy vulnerable to economic shocks. domestic and international confidence in the rupiah will bolster economic resilience, providing the rupiah gravitas at home and abroad. ladies and gentlemen, 10. law enforcement in the area of currency exchange is critical, especially considering that the currency exchange business is vulnerable to abuse in the form of money laundering and terrorist funding, the narcotics trade as well as smuggling under the guise of currency exchange. 11. the city of batam is a hub of currency exchange activity, evidenced by the number of licensed non - bank money changers in the city, totalling 122, which is the second largest in indonesia along with denpasar. in terms of transaction volume, up to september of this year, batam placed fourth after jakarta, denpasar and bandung, with a contribution equivalent to rp683 billion ( 4. 58 % ). 12. meanwhile, in terms of discovering counterfeit banknotes, based on records of bank indonesia and the national police, as many as 549 counterfeit banknotes were discovered on the riau islands up to september 2014, which is far lower than the amount seized last year totalling 1, 666 banknotes. counterfeit banknotes in riau islands province accounted for 0. 66 % of the national total or around 10 % of the total on sumatra, placing riau islands third after the provinces of north sumatra and bandar lampung. 13. in order to prevent currency exchange crime, bank indonesia promulgated bank indonesia regulation no. 16 / 15 / pbi / 2014, dated 11th september 2014, concerning non - bank currency exchange activity. the regulation reinforces and refines all aspects of currency exchange activity that must be licensed by bank indonesia. furthermore, the regulation is also expected to mitigate potential risk in the form of currency exchange crime. ladies and gentlemen, 14. pursuant to the bank indonesia act, bank indonesia is the monetary and payment system authority. as the monetary authority, the mission of bank indonesia is to create and maintain rupiah stability. currency exchange activity, as a supporting industry of the financial sector, plays a strategic role in terms of underpinning rupiah stability. 15. meanwhile, the mission of bank indonesia, as the payment system authority, is to create a secure, efficient and un