Digital Equity Crowdfunding in the Balance of Maqashid Shariah: Legal Certainty and Investor Protection in Indonesia (MAQASID)

Summary

• By July 2023, Indonesian equity crowdfunding had 423 securities issuers.p.2
• By 2025 the number of issuers rose 59% to 534 entities.p.2
• Legal certainty is unrealized due to overlapping norms among POJK No. 57/2020, POJK No. 16/2021 and sectoral rules.p.1
• Operators face dual licensing: a permit from the communications ministry under the electronic systems rules and operational approval from OJK.p.7
• Investor complaints include missing project progress reports, late dividends and lost investment funds without a clear settlement mechanism.p.8
• From a maqashid shariah view, the mechanism fails to safeguard property, intellect and inner peace.p.1
• The analysis covers only three maqashid elements: property, intellect and soul.p.11

Key insights

1. Equity crowdfunding is treated as a capital market activity but not as a public offering, which leaves investors with uncertain legal protection.p.7
2. Platform terms of use contain exoneration clauses that limit or remove operator liability for investment losses and system failure.p.8
3. Violations of equity crowdfunding agreements bring only administrative sanctions, with no explicit criminal sanctions.p.3
4. Weak enforcement of hifzh al-mal means investor property is not optimally protected, either preventively or through compensation.p.10
5. Disclaimer practices and unclear project reports hinder investors from assessing risk, which reflects gharar.p.10
6. The study integrates Radbruch's legal certainty with maqashid shariah as an evaluation framework for equity crowdfunding regulation.p.11