Lawyers charge dossier on tycoon Bob Hasan deficient<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Lawyers of timber baron Muhamad \"Bob\" Hasan
\naccused state prosecutors on Wednesday of coming up with an
\nincomplete dossier on the defendant, who has been charged with
\nswindling hundreds of millions of dollars from the state and the
\nAssociation of Indonesian Forest Concessionaires (APHI).<\/p>\n
They told a court hearing that prosecutors are charging the
\ndefendant, accused of defrauding the state of US$75.62 million
\nand APHI of another $168 million through an allegedly fraudulent
\naerial mapping project, on the basis of a law that has been
\nrepealed.<\/p>\n
\"The prosecutors are charging my client under the 1971
\nanticorruption law, for enriching himself at the state's expense.
\nThe law is no longer in effect, as the 1999 anticorruption law
\nwas enacted on Aug. 16 last year,\" Augustinus Hutajulu, chief
\ndefense lawyer of Bob Hasan, told the hearing presided over by
\njudge Subardi.<\/p>\n
\"How can anybody measure something that is claimed to exist
\n(the alleged criminal acts) with something (the 1971 Law) that is
\nlegally non-existent?\"<\/p>\n
He said that primary and subsidiary charges were also based on
\nthe 1999 anticorruption law, which could not be used since it was
\nenacted after the defendant had allegedly committed the crimes.<\/p>\n
On another matter, Augustinus said prosecutors had stated in
\ndetail how the defendant had defrauded the state of US$87
\nmillion, on pages 30, 38 and 48 of the 52-page indictment.<\/p>\n
\"However, with regard to the said primary and subsidiary
\ncharges, the dossiers state that the defendant has defrauded the
\nstate of US$ 75.62 million. How did US$87 million become $75.62
\nmillion?\"<\/p>\n
He added that prosecutors had failed to provide reasons as to
\nwhy they picked the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) to
\ninvestigate the photographic results of the mapping project
\nundertaken by his client's firm, PT Mapindo Parama (MP).<\/p>\n
Chief prosecutor Arnold Angkouw had told a preliminary hearing
\nthat between 1989 and 1999, the defendant, as APHI chief, had
\nawarded a mapping project without the consent of APHI members, to
\na company with the stipulation that he would become the company's
\nmajority shareholder.<\/p>\n
The company, PT Adikarto Printindo (AP), eventually changed
\nits name to PT Mapindo Parama (MP).<\/p>\n
According to the indictment, on April 27, 1989, without
\ncalling an executive board meeting, Hasan, as head of APHI,
\nsigned an agreement with AP president Bambang Riyadi Sugomo,
\ngranting AP the mapping project.<\/p>\n
On May 1, 1989, Bob Hasan became the major shareholder of PT
\nAP, took over full ownership of the company and then changed its
\nname from PT AP to PT Mapindo Parama.<\/p>\n
He failed to update the initial work agreement he signed with
\nBambang, in which the company's name was still recorded as PT
\nAdikarto Printindo.<\/p>\n
The mapping project involved the mapping and aerial
\nphotographing of 88.63 million hectares of forest concessions,
\nbelonging to 599 concessionaires.<\/p>\n
However, the permit issued by the Ministry of Forestry was for
\nthe mapping and photographing of concessions belonging to only 81
\nof the 599 companies, or 8.85 million hectares of forest
\nconcessions.<\/p>\n
The photos themselves failed to meet various technical
\nrequirements and were deemed useless by ITB. (ylt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lawyers-charge-dossier-on-tycoon-bob-hasan-deficient-1447893297",
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