KPK can take on BLBI cases: Minister

Abdul Khalik , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 07/05/2008 12:21 PM | National

The government has landed further support for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to take over the investigation into a huge loan scandal.

In the first statement by an authoritative minister for legal affairs, Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Matalatta said all the existing laws allowed the KPK to handle the investigations into the embezzled Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds.

"So there are no reasons for the KPK not to take over the cases," he said Friday.

The Attorney General's Office has been handling the BLBI embezzlement cases, which cost the state trillions of rupiah.

The KPK has several times argued it was ineligible to take over the BLBI cases because the 2003 law to set up the graft body could not be applied retroactively.

But Andi dismissed the retroactivity argument, arguing the KPK had strong legal grounds to step in because the 2003 law authorized it to take over corruption cases if the AGO was unable to investigate them or lacked the commitment to do so.

"The KPK took over the corruption case involving (former Aceh governor) Abdullah Puteh even though it occurred before the commission was established. So there is a precedent, and it is up to them now," he said.

Puteh was charged with abuse of power and enriching himself in the purchase of a Russian-made helicopter for the Aceh administration in 2001. The police initially handled the case until 2005, but when they were found to be too slow in concluding the investigation, the KPK, established that same year, stepped in.

The KPK quickly managed to bring Puteh to trial. He is now serving a 10-year sentence at Sukamiskin prison in Bandung, West Java, after the Corruption Court found him guilty of causing Rp 10 billion (US$1.1 million) in losses to the state.

The BLBI cases all date back to the financial crisis in 1998-1999, whereas the law to establish the KPK was passed in 2003.

Prominent legal expert Romli Atmasasmita has long argued the KPK should take over the cases on the grounds the AGO lacks the political will to seriously investigate the BLBI scandal.

"The mechanism for taking over cases from the AGO is stipulated in the 2003 KPK law," he said.

On Feb. 29 this year, the AGO dropped its BLBI investigations into two tycoons -- Sjamsul Nursalim and Anthony Salim -- citing a lack of evidence.

Two days later, the KPK arrested AGO prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan for allegedly taking a US$660,000 bribe from businesswoman Artalyta Suryani, who has been linked to Sjamsul.

Sjamsul, who fled Indonesia, was suspected of misusing trillions of rupiah from the BLBI funds. Urip led the team to investigate Sjamsul's involvement in the scandal.

Both Urip and Artalyta are now on trial.

Taped conversations, played in a series of Artalyta's trial sessions, revealed that three deputy attorneys general were implicated in the decision to drop Sjamsul's case.

The South Jakarta District Court has ordered the AGO to reopen the Sjamsul inquiry after a civil society group filed a motion against the closure of the BLBI cases. The AGO is appealing the ruling in the Supreme Court.

KPK chairman Antasari Azhar said recently he had not ruled out the possibility his office would take over the BLBI cases, but he was unsure when the commission would take steps to do so.

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