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Ex-Century owner gets four years, denies top political links
Former Bank Century owner Robert Tantular said Thursday he would file an appeal against a four-year jail term and Rp 50 billion (US$5 million) fine imposed in a verdict from the Central Jakarta court
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ormer Bank Century owner Robert Tantular said Thursday he would file an appeal against a four-year jail term and Rp 50 billion (US$5 million) fine imposed in a verdict from the Central Jakarta court.
Robert was found guilty for his involvement in the purchase of dubious securities worth $230 million in 2002 along with other Bank Century shareholders UK national Rafat Ali Rivsi and Saudi Arabian Hesyam Al Warraq, according to the court.
“It was these purchases that eventually damaged the bank’s performance,” said presiding judge Sugeng Riyono.
The sentence is less than the eight years prosecutors wanted because Robert was cleared of other charges of alleged embezzlement of a $18 million deposit of tycoon Boedi Sampoerna and related to dubious loans of Rp 121.3 billion and Rp 60 billion to PT Wibowo Wadah Rejeki and PT Accent Investment Indonesia.
Prosecutor Teguh Suhendro will consult senior colleagues on whether to appeal against the verdict.
Robert told reporters after the verdict that Rivsi and Al Warraq as controlling shareholders had played major roles in damaging the bank.
“They are the engineers behind the problems [with] the se-curities, as well as other problems
in the bank ... I’m filling an appeal because I'm not involved,” said Robert.
He denies that Rivsi and Al Warraq were “puppets” working for him.
Rivsi and Al Warraq, along with Dewi Tantular, Robert’s sister, went on the run and are now being hunted by Interpol for their role in ransacking Bank Century.
Triggered primarily by fraud, Bank Century nearly collapsed and had to be rescued by the government on Nov. 21 over fears the problem might pose a systemic threat to the country's banking
sector given the raging global financial crisis.
The government-sanctioned Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS) bailed out the bank in stages, for a total of Rp 6.76 trillion as of July 21.
Most of the bailout was used to cover losses of Rp 5.98 trillion ($598 million) from fraud, bad loans and irregularities, according to the central bank.
However, it was not until intervention by politicians in late August that the huge bailout triggered public anger, fuelling allegations the rescue was aimed at protecting politically wired depositors.
Robert believes the bailout became a political battle on weak arguments to sideline a certain political party.
“It [the rescue] was actually an obvious decision taken during a financial crisis, but is now [being] used for political arguments.”
“I'm happy if the bailout is being audited by the Supreme Audit Agency so that all may be made clear,” said Robert.
He also denied the bank rescue was aimed at protecting depositors having close links with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“I don’t think she [businesswoman Hartarti Murdaya] or her affiliates had funds in the bank at that time,” said Robert.
Hartarti was Yudhoyono’s key financier for the 2004 and 2009 presidential election campaigns. (nia)
