Case dismissed against ex Bank Bali bosses<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta District Court decided on
\nWednesday to discontinue the hearing of the high-profile Bank
\nBali cessie contract case, saying that the prosecutors'
\nindictment was unclear, vague and unacceptable.<\/p>\n
The judges also annulled the city arrest status of the four
\ndefendants -- former president Rudy Ramli, his two former
\ndeputies, Firman Soetjahya and Henri Kurniawan, and former bank
\ndirector Rusli Suryadi.<\/p>\n
"The prosecutors failed to clearly explain in detail the roles
\nof the four defendants in their indictment," presiding Judge
\nSoedarto told the court in a preliminary hearing.<\/p>\n
In the indictment, the prosecutors accused all the defendants
\nof failing to record or to disclose the Jan. 11, 1999 cessie
\ncontract between publicly listed Bank Bali and PT Era Giat Prima
\n(EGP) in violation of Article 49 of the 1992 Banking Act, which
\nwas amended in 1998.<\/p>\n
Under the deal, Bank Bali pledged to pay EGP Rp 546 billion
\n(US$78 million at current rate) as a commission fee for the
\nlatter's effort to collect Rp 904 billion in interbank loans on
\nclosed down Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia (BDNI).<\/p>\n
However, the deal became a politically charged scandal after
\nrevelations in late July that EGP, owned by well-connected
\nbusinessmen, used political influence to collect the claims,
\nwhich were guaranteed by the Indonesia Bank Restructuring Agency
\n(IBRA). EGP returned the commission fee two months after its
\npayment in early June.<\/p>\n
Soedarto said the defendants did nothing wrong because the
\ncessie contract was annulled by IBRA on Oct. 15.<\/p>\n
In their indictment, the prosecutors charged the defendants
\nwith violating Article 49 of the Law on Banking, which defines a
\ndefendant as purposely omitting or neglecting to book a
\ntransaction. Violation of this article carries a jail term of up
\nto 15 years and a maximum fine of Rp 200 billion.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Andi Rahman Absar from the Attorney General's
\nOffice said he would either file an appeal with the Jakarta High
\nCourt or change the indictment to revive the case.<\/p>\n
Soedarto's decision was warmly greeted by the four defendants,
\ntheir lawyers and hundreds of Bank Bali employees, who have
\nsupported their former bosses since the trial began on Nov. 11.<\/p>\n
While three of the defendants can relax, Rudy will face
\ncorruption charges currently being prepared by the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office.<\/p>\n
About two weeks ago, the office spokesman, Soehandojo, named
\nRudy, IBRA deputy chairman Pande Lubis and EGP executives Setya
\nNovanto and Djoko S. Tjandra as suspects of alleged corruption
\nrelated to the Bank Bali scandal.<\/p>\n
The Attorney General's Office has yet to announce the latest
\nprogress of their investigation on the corruption case.<\/p>\n
Separately, Rudy filed a lawsuit with the Jakarta State
\nAdministrative Court in mid-November against the governor of Bank
\nIndonesia for the latter's decision to hand over the management
\nof Bank Bali to the Standard Chartered Bank.<\/p>\n
Rudy's lawyer, LLM Samosir, said the takeover was against the
\nlaw since the move was never discussed with Bank Bali's
\nmanagement and shareholders.<\/p>\n
Anticorruption activists have said that Rudy Ramli was made a
\nscapegoat, asserting that the government should instead focus on
\nsenior officials implicated in the scandal.<\/p>\n
Although independent auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers'
\ninvestigations into the case found indications of the possible
\ninvolvement of several ministers and senior officials, only the
\nformer bank directors have been charged in court. (asa)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/case-dismissed-against-ex-bank-bali-bosses-1447893297",
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