Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – A total of 200,000 accounts were removed from the list of social aid or bansos recipients from Indonesia's Ministry of Social Affairs. Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf stated that these individuals were proven to be involved in online gambling based on the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) investigation.
The Minister of Social Affairs mentioned that there are still around 300,000 more bansos recipients' accounts currently under investigation. He stated, "To prove whether they will not receive (bansos) again in the third quarter because indeed their National Identification Number (NIK) was used for online gambling purposes," he said when met at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Jakarta, on Tuesday, July 29, 2025.
The man commonly known as Gus Ipul also mentioned that the Ministry of Social Affairs will conduct checks on a number of bansos recipients' accounts that are suspected to have never withdrawn their share. He explained that the PPATK reported that around Rp2.1 trillion of bansos funds has been left untouched for the last three years in 10 million accounts.
In the near future, the Ministry of Social Affairs will also collaborate with Bank Indonesia to detect anomalies or balances exceeding Rp1 million in the recipients' accounts. "There should be no anomalies or balances that are unreasonable," said Gus Ipul.
Subsequently, the three groups of bansos recipients, namely those involved in online gambling, those with stagnant funds in their accounts, and those with unreasonable balances, will be replaced with more deserving recipients. Gus Ipul stated that all of these measures are taken to ensure the accurate distribution of aid. "This is in line with the objective of targeted bansos based on a Single Data of National Social and Economic," he added.
Previously, Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf stated that the government has prepared three options for sanctions to be imposed on bansos recipients involved in online gambling.
Saifullah explained that the three sanctions are a warning and guidance, temporary revocation of recipient status, and the most severe, permanent removal from the government social aid recipient list. "We will implement various measures," said Saifullah at the People's Representative Council Building, Jakarta, on Monday, July 7, 2025.