Beneficial Owner in Indonesian Legal System: Between Administrative Obligations and the Concept of Ownership

Joan Toryanto

doi:10.24198/d8cde334

Articles

Beneficial Owner in Indonesian Legal System: Between Administrative Obligations and the Concept of Ownership

Authors

Joan Toryanto a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:5:"UNDIP";}

Published 29-09-2026

DOI 10.24198/d8cde334

Section Articles

Abstract

This research is conducted in the wake of a new concept of Beneficial Ownership essentially regulated in Presidential Regulation 13 of 2018 that contradicts the ownership concept in Indonesian Civil Code. The disharmony is causing confusion especially in practice by notaries and business actors. This paper aims tries to elucidate the ownership concepts between civil law with its absolute ownership, and common law that recognize legal and beneficial ownership, subsequently examine the impact on related legal actors. A qualitative doctrinal research method was used in this study, focusing on an in-depth analysis of Indonesia’s regulatory framework on Beneficial Ownership (BO) and its interaction with the theoretical foundations of ownership in civil law. This research found that Indonesia’s single-ownership system prioritizes formal legal certainty, unlike common law’s separation of legal and beneficial ownership. Adopting beneficial ownership without proper conceptual reconstruction creates normative tension between formal and substantive ownership, leading to legal uncertainty, contractual ambiguity, evidentiary conflicts, and compliance burdens, particularly for notaries. Nonetheless, the underlying values of beneficial ownership—transparency, accountability, and fairness—align with Indonesian principles of social justice, making conceptual reconciliation essential to preserve legal certainty amid global transparency demands.

Keywords

beneficial ownership
legal ownership
disharmony
legal transplant

References

Afifah, Bayyinatun, Suhadi, and Irawaty. “Legal Security and Legal Protection in the First Time Land Registration Publication System in Indonesia.” International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science VIII, no. 8 (2024): 4469–77. doi:10.47772/IJRISS.
Aljula, Muhammad Yusron, and Hartanto. “Risk, Responsibility, and Regulation: A Socio-Legal Analysis of Notarial Accountability in Identifying Beneficial Ownership.” Baileo: Jurnal Sosial Humaniora 3, no. 1 (2025): 33–48. doi:https://doi.org/10.30598/baileofisipvol3iss1ppXX-XX.
Aristodemou, Marina. “Are Beneficial Ownership Laws Important? Exploring the Impact of Panama, FinCEN, and Pandora Papers on Beneficial Ownership Laws in The UK and The US.” Journal of Economic Criminology 5, no. April 2016 (2024): 100082. doi:10.1016/j.jeconc.2024.100082.
Bartl, Marija, Laura Burgers, and Chantal Mak, eds. Uncovering European Private Law. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 2025. doi:10.11647/OBP.0448.
Blajer, Pawel A. “On The Principle of Public Faith of Land Registers in Comparative Context.” European Property Law Journal 12, no. 2–3 (2023): 79–125. doi:https://doi.org/10.1515/eplj-2023-0005.
Cindori, Sonja. “Beneficial Ownership – Demand for Transparency , Threat to Privacy.” Review of European and Comparative Law 55, no. 4 (2023): 113–31. doi:https://doi.org/10.31743/recl.16352.
Cox, George William. The Crusades. Epochs of Modern History Series. 3rd ed. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1874.
Fuad, Fokky, Heriyono Tardjono, Aris Machmud, Nizla Rohayah, and Prosper Maguchu. “Ownership of Land: Legal Philosophy and Cultutre Analysis of Land Property Rights.” Jurnal Media Hukum 30, no. 2 (2023). doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.18196/jmh.v29i2.18264.
Fund, International Monetary, Francisca Fernando, and Richard Berkhout. “Practical Implementation of Beneficial Ownership Requirements.” In Unmasking Control: A Guide to Beneficial Ownership Transparency, 31–83. International Monetary Fund, 2022.
Gvelesiani, Irina. The Origin of the Trust: A Comparative Linguistics and Law Perspective. Springer International Publishing, 2024.
Hage, Jaap C. Reasoning with Rules: An Essay on Legal Reasoning and Its Underlying Logic. Springer Science+Business media Dordrecht, 1997. doi:10.1007/978-94-015-8873-7.
Harahap, M. Yahya. Hukum Perseroan Terbatas. Jakarta: Sinar Grafika, 2009.
Harsono, Boedi. Hukum Agraria Indonesia. Jakarta: Universitas Trisakti, 2019.
Kalajdzic, Jasminka, Axel Halfmeier, and Bernard Murphy. “The ( Un ) Intended Consequences of Legal Transplants?: A Comparative Study of Standing in Collective Litigation in Five Jurisdictions.” Journal of Tort Law 17, no. 2 (2024): 149–202. doi:10.1515/jtl-2025-0003.
Kusumo, Bimo, and Putro Indarto. “Pertanggungjawaban Notaris Dalam Mengungkapkan Pemilik Manfaat ( Beneficial Owner ) Pada Pendirian Perusahaan” 1, no. 4 (2024): 199–206. doi:https://doi.org/10.62383/aliansi.v1i4.309.
Legrand, Pierre. “The Impossibility Og ‘Legal Transplants.’” Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 4, no. 2 (1997): 111–24. doi:doi.org/10.1177/1023263X9700400202.
Li, Lingling, Haoran Gao, Bingjie Song, and Caixian Cui. “How to Use Evidence Rules Reasonably to Resolve Land Disputes?: Analysis of Typical Land Dispute Cases from China.” Land 13, no. 8 (2024). doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/land13081187.
Marzuki, Peter Mahmud. Penelitian Hukum,. Jakarta: Kencana, 2007. doi:340.072.
Matras, Tomasz Micha?. “Harmonisation of The Beneficial Ownership Registers in European Union.” Journal of Money Laundering Control 28, no. 7 (2025): 81–94. doi:10.1108/JMLC-07-2025-0119.
Nivia. “Dualisme Pengaturan Beneficial Ownership Di Indonesia.” Mimbar Hukum 35, no. 1 (2023): 29–58. doi:https://doi.org/10.22146/mh.v35i1.5155.
Oktaviani, Nadya Ivi. “Who Owns What?? Legal Analysis of Unit Ownership in Solo Urbana Residence under Indonesian Land Law.” Indonesian Journal of Agrarian Law 2, no. 2 (2025): 77–88. doi:https://doi.org/10.15294/jal.v2i2.31116.
Putri, Gina Aulia Maulida. “Tanggung Jawab PPAT Dalam Menerapkan Asas Nemo Plus Juris Pada Peralihan Hak Atas Tanah.” Jurnal Private Law 5, no. 2 (2025). doi:https://doi.org/10.29303/prlw.v5i2.6526.
Savigny, Friedrich Karl von. The Jus Possessionis of the Civil Law. Minnesota: Hyperion Press, 1848.
Sofwan, Sri Soedewi Masjchoen. Hukum Perdata: Hukum Benda. Cetakan ke. Yogyakarta: Liberty, 2008.
Subekti, R. Pokok-Pokok Hukum Perdata. 31st ed. Jakarta: Intermasa, 2003.
Thijs, Hannelore. “The New Dutch Default Community of Acquests Regime?: Key Innovations From a Comparative Perspective,” no. April 2017 (2025): 1–19. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/ebae026.
Wang, Jia. “Reflection on Legal Transplantation Theories: A Socio-Legal Historical Study of the Formulation and Evolution of Chinese Marine Insurance Law.” International Journal of Law in Context 21, no. 1 (2025): 80–98. doi:10.1017/S174455232400034X.
WorldBank. “Enhancing Government Effectiveness and Transparency.” World Bank Publication, 2020. doi:10.1596/34533.
Zhang, Chi. “Re-Exploring The Nature of Dual Ownership in English Trusts?: A Scottish Law Perspective.” Trusts & Trustees 29, no. 1 (2023): 62–78. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/tandt/ttac113.