BI scandal defendants face verdict today

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 06/17/2009 9:21 AM  |  National

The Corruption Court will hand down its verdict of four former Bank Indonesia deputy governors for their alleged involvement in illegal disbursement of Rp 100 billion (US$9.9 million) from the bank’s Indonesian Banking Development Foundation (YPPI) in 2003.

The court had scheduled the final session of the trial for 8 a.m., but at the time of writing the court had yet to start the session.

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors have sought a four-year jail term for each of the defendants, namely Maman Husen Soemantri, Bun Bunan EJ Hutapea, Aslim Tadjuddin and Aulia Pohan, the father-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's eldest son.

The case has already brought down several top names at BI and lawmakers, some of whom are now appealing the verdicts.

Former BI governor Burhanuddin Abdullah was sentenced to five years in prison late last year for distributing money off the books of both the BI and the YPPI.

In October last year two former top officials of the bank, Oey Hoey Tiong and Rusli Simanjuntak, were sentenced to four years in jail each for thier role in the crime.

Lawmakers Hamka Yandhu and Antony Zeidra Abidin were sentenced to three and four-and-a-half years in jail, respectively, earlier this year for accepting bribes from executors of the BI fund. (dre)

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