Combating Digital Transnational Organized Crime: Assessing the Effectiveness of Mutual Legal Assistance for Indonesia

Abstract

Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) in the digital era has evolved into an increasingly complex global threat, characterized by the convergence of cyber fraud, underground banking, and virtual asset-based money laundering. In Indonesia, such criminal activities have resulted in substantial economic losses by exploiting cross-border jurisdictional gaps and weaknesses in domestic regulatory frameworks. This study examines the effectiveness of Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) mechanisms under Law Number 1 of 2006 in addressing transnational cybercrime and evaluates the urgency of international legal harmonization. The novelty of this study lies in its specific examination of the structural incompatibility between Indonesia’s traditional MLA mechanisms and the ontological characteristics of contemporary cybercrime involving cloud computing ecosystems, virtual asset-based underground banking, and the malware-as-a-service phenomenon. Employing a normative juridical method based on statutory and conceptual approaches, the study finds that conventional MLA mechanisms are no longer effective. This ineffectiveness fundamentally stems from a temporal asymmetry between lengthy MLA bureaucratic procedures, which may take months to complete, and the operational speed of digital crime, which can occur within seconds. Moreover, the rigidity of the dual criminality principle and the volatility of electronic evidence across jurisdictions further impede effective law enforcement. At the regional level, the ASEAN Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty is similarly constrained by the principle of non-interference and the absence of mechanisms for the immediate preservation of digital data. The study concludes that Indonesia urgently needs to accede to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. Such accession is crucial for overcoming jurisdictional barriers, facilitating the immediate exchange of digital evidence through the 24/7 Network, and curbing jurisdictional arbitrage by transnational criminal syndicates.