BI chiefs approve fund payouts

Andreas D. Arditya ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 07/24/2008 10:41 AM  |  Headlines

The Corruption Court heard Wednesday that former Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governors approved the disbursements of the allegedly embezzled Rp 100 billion (US$10.9 million) of BI funds and later attempted to hide the payouts.

During the graft trial of former BI governor Burhanuddin Abdullah, former deputy governor Maman Somantri testified that he and another deputy governor Aulia Pohan approved the disbursement of the money based on a decision by the BI board of directors.

"Aulia and I approved the disbursement from the Indonesian Banking Development Foundation (YPPI) funds as previously decided in a board of directors meeting on June 3, 2003," Maman said.

Aulia is the father-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's son. Aulia and Maman were also the chairman and deputy of YPPI, a BI proxy in charge of educational campaigns.

Maman acknowledged that the money was distributed to then BI legal affairs deputy Oey Hoey Tiong and BI communications bureau head Rusli Simanjuntak, who later channeled the money to five former BI officials and lawmakers of the House of Representatives' then Commission IX on financial affairs.

He said a total of Rp 68.5 billion was distributed as financial assistance to cover the legal expenses of former senior BI officials namely Paul Sutopo, Hendro Boedianto, Heru Soepraptomo, Iwan Prawiranata and Soedrajad Djiwandono, who were all implicated in the BI liquidity support (BLBI) corruption cases.

Aulia, according to former BI governor Sjahril Sabirin who also testified Wednesday, was involved in suggesting the BI board discuss the financial help with the former officials.

"The idea came from the BI law division. Aulia was the deputy governor in charge of the division, while Oey was his subordinate," Sjahril said.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) alleged that the remaining Rp 31.5 billion was given to lawmakers Antony Zeidra Abidin and Hamka Yandhu, both of the Golkar Party. They later distributed the money in the House Commission to support its work in resolving the BLBI case and amending the BI Law.

The KPK investigation into the case began after the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) had found financial irregularities within the central bank during its audit in 2006.

BPK head Anwar Nasution, who also testified in the trial, said both Oey and Rusli had repeatedly come to him and asked him to "revise" the report and secure the matter.

"But I refused. I told them the time for that (kind of attitude) had passed. I advised them to take necessary measures to solve the problem," said Anwar, who is also a former senior BI deputy.

Oey and Rusli are currently defending their corruption trial for their involvement in the embezzlement.

Anwar also said he had told Burhanuddin several times to pay Rp 100 billion back to the YPPI and make corrections in both YPPI and BI accounting records before the matter could get worse.

"He always replied 'yes, yes, yes' but never did it. Now he has to face you all (the panel of judges)," he said.

Burhanuddin is facing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and Rp 1 billion in fines for his role in the alleged corruption.

Presiding judge Gusrizal adjourned the trial for two weeks, when the court is scheduled to hear from more witnesses.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.