Indonesia's Ministry of Social Affairs has suspended food aid to 1.49 million households enrolled in the Sembako programme after the financial intelligence unit PPATK flagged suspicious transactions linked to online gambling. Third-quarter 2026 payments are frozen pending review.
Minister Saifullah Yusuf said the ministry has also suspended payments to 794,475 families under the PKH conditional cash transfer programme. It is not clear whether the two groups overlap; the ministry has not published combined figures.
The number of blocked accounts in the second quarter of 2026 more than doubled from 600,000 households a year earlier. Saifullah said social aid is meant for basic needs, not betting. Some frozen accounts may have been used knowingly, others through ignorance or by third parties. The review is being conducted jointly by the ministry, PPATK, the Ministry of Digital Affairs and regional authorities, with results expected within a week. Households found to have used funds for gambling deliberately or repeatedly will lose benefits permanently, with the aid redirected to others in need.
Around 12 million families receive Sembako payments in the third quarter; the frozen group represents roughly one in eight. PKH covers 7 million households.
Online gambling is banned in Indonesia but remains widespread. PPATK recorded IDR 86.82 trillion ($5.3 billion) in turnover across 467.32 million transactions in the first half of 2026. Transaction volume rose 167% year on year as operators fragment deposits to bypass filters. During the World Cup, PPATK head Ivan Yustiavandana noted more than 6 million wagers in a month. The main deposit channel is QRIS, the national QR payment system, which complicates enforcement.
