Research on the recovery of assets derived from corruption, known as asset recovery, led lawyer Hotma Padan Dapotan Sitompul (Hotma Sitompul) to earn his doctoral degree. Hotma defended his dissertation, entitled “The Implementation of Asset Recovery in Corruption Cases under Indonesian Criminal and Civil Law,” during a doctoral promotion examination held on Monday (5/9) at Building I of the Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FH UGM).
The examination was chaired by Prof. Dr. Marsudi Triadmodjo, S.H., LL.M., with Prof. Nindyo Pramono, S.H., M.S., serving as the promoter and Prof. Eddy O.S. Hiariej, S.H., M.Hum., as co-promoter. Prof. Dr. Indriyanto Seno Adji, S.H., M.H., a guest examiner from Universitas Indonesia, was also present at the open examination.
Hotma’s research was motivated by the lack of optimal recovery of state assets lost as a result of corruption. “The law requires such losses to be fully recovered. Therefore, law enforcement authorities must utilize all available legal instruments to recover losses resulting from corruption,” Hotma explained in his dissertation.
In his dissertation, Hotma proposed a concept in which, if a defendant is sentenced to four years of imprisonment as the principal penalty and ordered to pay compensation of Rp100 billion as an additional penalty, the substitute imprisonment for the compensation should be set at 10 years, longer than the principal sentence. Under this scheme, one year of the substitute imprisonment would be deducted for every Rp10 billion in compensation paid.
This concept was subsequently questioned by one of the examiners, Prof. Dr. Marcus Priyo Gunarto, S.H., M.Hum. He questioned whether the proposed mechanism could interfere with the objectives of the correctional system, considering that the length of imprisonment would effectively be calculated based on the amount of money paid. This concern was particularly relevant because not every defendant in a corruption case necessarily benefits from the proceeds of corruption. Hotma defended his argument by pointing out that, under the current system, convicted offenders may prefer serving prison sentences rather than returning state funds, even when a compensation order has been imposed. “The question today is whether we should focus on punishing the offender or recovering the state’s losses. We must prioritize recovery,” Hotma responded.
In the conclusion of his dissertation, Hotma stated that several provisions of the Anti-Corruption Law could be utilized by law enforcement authorities to optimize the recovery of state losses. These provisions include Articles 2 and 3, Article 18 paragraph (3), Article 38B paragraph (5), and Article 38B paragraph (2).
After undergoing the 60-minute open examination, the Chair of the Examination Committee announced that Hotma Padan Dapotan Sitompul, S.H., M.Hum., had successfully completed the examination with cum laude honors. At the end of the ceremony, Prof. Nindyo, as Hotma’s promoter, reminded him that earning a doctoral degree was only the beginning of another significant challenge in serving society. “If Bang Hotma remains consistent with the ideas developed in this dissertation, then speak up and contribute your thoughts toward advancing the recovery of assets derived from corruption,” he said. (Hanifah)
