Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment, Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar, has said that his ministry is continuing to track social assistance recipients suspected of misusing the aid for online gambling.
He emphasized that any social aid beneficiary caught gambling online will face strict sanctions.
“The sanctions could include a reduction or even termination of their assistance,” Iskandar warned here on Saturday.
Earlier on Tuesday, he had hinted at the possibility of cutting off social aid for recipients involved in online gambling.
The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) recently identified 571,410 national identification numbers (NIKs) belonging to social aid recipients who had engaged in online gambling in 2024.
The total value of the online gambling deposits made by the recipients reached Rp957 billion or around US$59 million, with 7.5 million transactions recorded in 2024.
In light of the findings, the Ministry of Social Affairs has sought collaboration with the PPATK to ensure that the disbursement of social assistance remains effective and on target, in line with the directive of President Prabowo Subianto.
The PPATK will analyse the bank account data of social aid recipients to evaluate the accuracy of assistance distribution amid concerns over dormant accounts, or accounts showing no activity other than the receipt of aid transfers.
According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, as of July 1, 2025, more than Rp20 trillion in social assistance has been distributed to millions of beneficiary families.
The beneficiaries include over eight million recipients under the Family Hope Program (PKH), 15 million families under the staple food assistance program, and another 15 million covered by the additional cash assistance initiative.
