Problems of Proving Corporate Criminal Liability in Organized Narcotics Crimes in Indonesia

Abstract

The development of organized narcotics crime in Indonesia has shown increasingly complex patterns involving corporate entities as instruments for the distribution, concealment, and laundering of proceeds from narcotics trafficking. In practice, corporations are no longer merely passive entities but have become strategic actors facilitating transnational narcotics networks through business structures that appear legally legitimate. This study aims to analyze the problems of proving corporate criminal liability in organized narcotics crimes and to examine the formulation of criminal law policies needed to strengthen the enforcement of corporate accountability in Indonesia. This research uses normative legal research methods with statutory, conceptual, and case approaches. The study reveals that the current legal framework still encounters significant obstacles in proving the mens rea and actus reus of corporations due to the complexity of corporate structures, weak tracing of beneficial ownership, limited investigative capacity, and inconsistencies in the application of corporate criminal liability doctrines by law enforcement officers. In addition, the overlap between the Narcotics Law, Anti-Money Laundering Law, and corporate regulations has created legal uncertainty in practice. Therefore, strengthening legal synchronization, expanding evidentiary mechanisms, optimizing financial investigation techniques, and reformulating corporate criminal liability doctrines are necessary to ensure more effective law enforcement against organized narcotics crimes involving corporations.