'Corruptors' move to Singapore<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A court rejected on Tuesday the indictment of two former
\nbankers in absentia in a corruption trial and ordered the
\nprosecutor to summon the defendants, who currently live in
\nSingapore.<\/p>\n
Presiding Judge Rukmini of the Central Jakarta District Court
\ntold prosecutor Arnold Angkouw to summon Bambang Sutrisno and
\nAdrian Kiki Ariwan, the deputy commissioner and the president
\ndirector of the now-defunct Bank Surya.<\/p>\n
The defendants are charged with the misappropriation of Rp 1.9
\ntrillion (about US$202 million) of the Bank Indonesia Liquidity
\nSupport Fund in 1997.<\/p>\n
After the hearing, Arnold told reporters he would send the
\nsummons again to both defendants through their homes in Jakarta,
\nalthough the defendants' lawyers repeatedly said their clients
\nnow live in Singapore.<\/p>\n
He insisted the court should try Bambang and Adrian in
\nabsentia to save time.<\/p>\n
According to a circular of the Supreme Court, lawyers are not
\nallowed to represent defendants tried in absentia for economic
\nand corruption crimes.<\/p>\n
But Bambang's lawyer R. Dwiyanto Prihartono, came to the court
\nto follow the hearing outside the courtroom.<\/p>\n
He gave reporters several documents, including his client's
\nanswers during a questioning by a prosecutor in Singapore in 1999
\nand several letters from the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore
\nstating that Bambang has been living in Singapore since July,
\n1997.<\/p>\n
Several legal observers had raised objections against the
\nAttorney General's Office move to try in absentia several
\nbusinessmen involved in BLBI violations, even though the
\ngovernment knows their addresses abroad.<\/p>\n
The trials, they said, would not be effective because the
\ngovernment may not be able to summon the defendants and retrieve
\nthe money.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/corruptors-move-to-singapore-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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