Singapore and Indonesia agree to form joint task force to track money trail of haze culprits

Singapore and Indonesia have agreed to establish a joint task force to investigate companies linked to forest and land fires responsible for transboundary haze. The announcement was made on October 27 by Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir during a joint press conference in Jakarta. Mechanism for Corporate Accountability The joint task force is designed to integrate information sharing, financial intelligence, and cross-border evidence gathering to identify and prosecute entities profiting from land fires. The primary objective is to track the "money trail" of involved companies and facilitate asset recovery where applicable. Minister Balakrishnan stated that Singapore will employ all available legal and regulatory powers against responsible firms, signaling a move toward a broader range of economic and regulatory measures to deter future violations. This follows the National Environment Agency's recent issuance of notices to 10 Singapore-based firms to provide documents and information, marking the first such action since the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act came into effect.