Follow-Up: Singapore and Indonesia Set Up Joint Task Force to Follow the Money Behind Land and Forest Fires
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Indonesian Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir agreed after their meeting in Jakarta on October 27 to set up a joint task force linking information sharing, financial intelligence, cross-border evidence gathering and, where possible, asset recovery, to follow the money trail behind the land and forest fires driving this year's severe transboundary haze. It is the two countries' latest enforcement step in the current haze crisis.
'We must follow the money trail these companies have left behind,' Nasir said. 'No border should shield those who profit from burning our forests.' Balakrishnan said Singapore stands in solidarity with Indonesia and will use every legal and regulatory power against the firms responsible, including companies registered in Singapore.
Singapore's National Environment Agency has issued preventive-measures notices under section 9 of the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act to 10 companies in Indonesia, and notices under section 10 to 10 Singapore-based companies. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu told a forum that a specialist panel of law, audit and investigative firms has been set up to support the work. Indonesia says hundreds of individuals and more than 50 companies have faced legal proceedings, with some convicted.
The fires are reported to be the worst in 11 years, with more than 1.9 million hectares burned between January and September according to Nusantara Atlas data. President Prabowo Subianto has made firefighting a national priority, deploying around 71,000 ground personnel and 51 aerial units. Balakrishnan was scheduled to meet President Prabowo on October 28.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 2026年10月烟霾笼罩下的新加坡。ZKang123 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Singapore under haze in October 2026. Photo by ZKang123, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-10-28Follow-Up: Singapore and Indonesia Set Up Joint Task Force to Follow the Money Behind Land and Forest FiresThis story
