Sjamsul Nursalim (JP)

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has decided to press ahead with its investigation into the high-profile Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) case, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling to acquit a key suspect of corruption charges.

The court announced Tuesday it had granted an appeal filed by former Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) chairman Syafruddin Arsyad Temenggung, who was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment with a Rp 700 million (US$49,596) fine by the Jakarta Corruption Court. The Jakarta High Court increased the sentence to 15 years’ imprisonment and a Rp 1 billion fine.

A total of Rp 4.58 trillion in state losses were incurred in graft surrounding the BLBI case.

The KPK recently named businessman Sjamsul Nursalim and his wife Itjih, who remain at large and are believed to be residing in Singapore, suspects in a separate case based on the verdict against Syafruddin.

“The acquittal does not nullify the investigation into the graft case [in which Sjamsul and his wife are suspects],” KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said at the KPK on Wednesday.

Febri explained that the justices acquitted Syafruddin but never argued that the other graft case should be dropped because of the decision.

The bench was not unanimous in acquitting him, with one justice arguing that the court should uphold the opinion of the appellate court. Meanwhile, the other two justices argued that the defendant’s action was a civil or administrative matter.

“Both cases are related but the investigations are independent of each other,” Febri added.

He further said the KPK was still waiting for a copy of the verdict, which would be analyzed before deciding whether to take further legal action.

On the same day, KPK investigators questioned three witnesses in the case, namely former state-owned enterprises minister Laksamana Sukardi, former IBRA chairman Glenn M. Surya and civil servant Edwin H. Abdullah. Another witness, former IBRA deputy chairman Farid Harianto, skipped a summons.

Transparency International Indonesia (TII) secretary-general Dadang Trisasongko supported the KPK’s stance, saying the court’s verdict did not annul the legal process on Sjamsul and Itjih.

“The KPK still has the chance to further process the case of Sjamsul and Itjih,” Dadang told The Jakarta Post.

TII researcher Wawan Sujatmiko further added that the KPK would need to take additional steps while handling the case, “initiating a petition for a judicial review [to challenge the acquittal]”.

“The KPK must see the end of [the graft case involving Sjamsul and Itjih as suspects] so that the losses can be returned [to the state],” Wawan said.

Wawan called the court’s decision to acquit Syafruddin “irregular” as it was stated that the disbursement of BLBI funds had caused state losses.

“[The decision to disburse the funds] had caused losses totaling Rp 4.58 trillion. It was not a breach of contract as stipulated in the Civil Law. Also, dissenting opinions from three different justices are quite rare,” Wawan said.

Indonesia Corruption Watch researcher Kurnia Ramadhana criticized the verdict, saying it would hurt public trust toward the judiciary.

The case dates back to the 1998 Asian financial crisis when Bank Dagang Negara Indonesia (BDNI) received Rp 28 trillion in BLBI funds, which were disbursed by the government through the central bank to help banks cope with massive runs during the crisis.

It was later found that 95 percent of the Rp 144.5 trillion in BLBI funds disbursed to 48 commercial banks, including BDNI, had been embezzled.

Sjamsul, the owner of BDNI, and his wife Itjih were named suspects by the KPK in June for their alleged role in the case. (awa)

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