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BLBI case termination raises concerns over fate of high-profile graft cases
This is the first time the antigraft body has terminated a corruption investigation since a revision to the KPK Law allowed it to do so.
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Employees at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) lay flowers and wreaths on top of a casket in front of the KPK office in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Sept. 13, 2019, marking the day that controversial revisions to the KPK Law officially came into effect. The revisions raised the question as to what will happen to the country’s leading corruption-fighting agency under the new legislation. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
T
he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has pulled the plug an ongoing investigation into alleged graft pertaining to Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) funds, raising concerns that the antigraft body might do the same to other cases.
“The termination is part of our attempt to provide legal certainty in our law enforcement as mandated by Article 5 of the KPK Law, which requires us to work under legal certainty,” KPK deputy chairman Alexander Marwata said in a press briefing on Thursday.
Bank Dagang Negara Indonesia (BDNI) owner Sjamsul Nursalim and his wife Itjih Nursalim were named suspects in the case in June 2019. The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) estimates that the alleged graft caused Rp 4.58 trillion (US$314 million) in state losses.
The case dates back to the 1997 Asian financial crisis when BDNI received Rp 28 trillion in BLBI funds, which were disbursed through the central bank to help it survive the monetary crisis.
Sjamsul claimed he had instructed the bank to use the funds for loans to farmers and fish farmers, but investigators accused him of misrepresenting the loans and enriching himself in the process.
Read also: KPK terminates 36 investigations amid declining public trust
The KPK had been chasing the Nursalims for years, even placing them on its most-wanted list in October 2019 after they failed to appear for questioning in Jakarta. However, the investigation stalled when it failed to unearth enough evidence.
