AGO's plans to withdraw disputed funds criticized<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite increasing protests, the Attorney General's Office
\n(AGO) insisted upon executing a court ruling on Friday requiring
\nBank Permata, owned by the government, to return Rp 546.5 billion
\n(about US$65 million) in funds to a company called PT Era Giat
\nPrima (EGP).<\/p>\n
\"Whatever happens, the court ruling must be adhered to because
\nthe legal decision on the issue is final,\" AGO spokesman Kemas
\nYahya Rahman announced to the public.<\/p>\n
The dispute surrounding the funds started when the now-
\ndefunct Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), in 2002
\nmerged five ailing banks -- including Bank Bali -- to form Bank
\nPermata, now the country's 10th largest bank in terms of assets.<\/p>\n
It later turned out that during the merger process, the agency
\nhad used Rp 546.5 billion stashed away in a Bank Bali account --
\nbut the money was not supposed to be used as it was the subject
\nof legal proceedings surrounding the Bank Bali case involving the
\nowner of EGP, Djoko Tjandra.<\/p>\n
The Bank Bali scandal erupted in 1999 and revolved around
\nallegations that EGP had illegally obtained the funds from the
\nbank. IBRA then canceled the transaction, while Djoko and others
\ninvolved were charged with corruption and convicted by lower
\ncourts.<\/p>\n
But the Supreme Court last year overturned Djoko's conviction
\non all charges, which means that IBRA -- or the government -- now
\nmust return the disputed money to Djoko and EGP.<\/p>\n
The AGO's plan to execute the ruling was greeted with protests
\nfrom many anticorruption activists, who said it would cause
\nlosses of state funds.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) demanded the AGO
\npostpone the execution plan and seek a judicial review on the
\ncase to annul the ruling.<\/p>\n
\"That's the only way for the AGO to act as a \"lawyer of the
\nstate\", instead of becoming a \"lawyer for Djoko\" as it currently
\nshows in this case,\" ICW said in a statement, referring to Djoko
\nTjandra, a co-owner of EGP.<\/p>\n
The corruption watchdog based his argument on the fact that
\nthe transaction between Bank Bali and EGP violated existing
\nregulations and that the Bank Bali case was still underway for
\nother suspects.<\/p>\n
\"If the AGO insists on executing the ruling, we, along with
\nother elements of society, will file a class action law suit
\nagainst the AGO,\" ICW said in the statement signed by coordinator
\nTeten Masduki.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/agos-plans-to-withdraw-disputed-funds-criticized-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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