Sjahril to face trial soon: Abdurrahman<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Friday that
\nBank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin would be brought to the
\ncourt soon for a trial over his alleged involvement in the Bank
\nBali scandal.<\/p>\n
\" Don't worry, Sjahril Sabirin will be brought to the court
\nsoon. The attorney general has told me this,\" Abdurrahman said,
\nwithout giving a clear time frame.<\/p>\n
The President's remarks came after Sjahril's release on
\nTuesday from the custody of the Attorney General's Office because
\nhis maximum detention period had expired.<\/p>\n
The release has raised speculation that the President's power
\nover his administration is weakening. Abdurrahman has been under
\nstrong attack by a group of hard-liners in the House of
\nRepresentatives over alleged involvement in financial scandals.<\/p>\n
However, Sjahril may face other criminal charges related to
\nbanknote counterfeiting.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Rizal Ramli, told
\nreporters on Thursday that Sjahril was linked to other criminal
\ncases, including the counterfeiting of bank notes.<\/p>\n
Rizal denied on Friday that he had ever made such a statement
\nbut he insisted that Sjahril should also take moral
\nresponsibility for the counterfeit money case.<\/p>\n
Separately, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman confirmed, on
\nFriday, that his office was currently cooperating with several
\nother institutions to investigate the case concerning the
\ncounterfeit bank notes.<\/p>\n
\"The investigation finds that it all leads to the involvement
\nof Bank Indonesia as an institution,\" Marzuki told journalists.<\/p>\n
But he refused to mention any particular suspects.<\/p>\n
Sjahril's lawyer Muhammad Assegaf said that his client had no
\nplans as yet to file defamation charges against Rizal for his
\nwild accusation.<\/p>\n
\"However, there seems to be no coordination between Rizal and
\nthe Attorney General,\" Assegaf told the Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"After Rizal clarified his initial statements to the press on
\nFriday, the Attorney General came out to endorse Rizal's Thursday
\nstatements that there is a strong suspicion in the central bank
\nthat my client's leadership was involved with the printing of
\nfake banknotes,\" he added.<\/p>\n
A retired army colonel is currently being put on trial at the
\nSurabaya district court in East Java over a counterfeit money
\ncase involving around Rp 4.28 billion.<\/p>\n
Sjahril was detained late in June after months of arguments
\nwith Abdurrahman, who had demanded that the governor step down in
\norder to clear the way for cleaning up Bank Indonesia, which has
\nbeen perceived by the public as being a corrupt institution.<\/p>\n
It is no secret that the central bank had been used by
\nSoeharto to enrich his family and friends during the 32 years in
\npower.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Audit Agency discovered in an investigative audit
\nlast year the misuse of Rp 144.5 trillion (US$15 billion) in
\nmassive government bank liquidity support funds injected to
\nailing banks during the height of the financial crisis between
\n1997 and early 1999.<\/p>\n
Sjahril was appointed to the top position of Bank Indonesia
\nfor a five-year term in early 1998 by the then authoritarian
\npresident Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Sjahril has denied any involvement in last year's Bank Bali
\nscandal, which centered on the illegal transfer of some US$80
\nmillion from Bank Bali to a private firm linked to senior
\nexecutives of the Golkar Party.<\/p>\n
The government also seems to have a weak case against Sjahril
\nparticularly as other key suspects in the bank scandal have been
\nacquitted of all charges by the court.<\/p>\n
There has been speculation that the President's true intention
\nto oust Sjahril from the central bank was made to fulfill his
\nwish to install his loyalists at Bank Indonesia, which holds the
\ndocuments on major flows of funds derived from what is now known
\nas the \"Bulogate\" scandal which allegedly implicates Abdurrahman.<\/p>\n
Sjahril has now returned to office. His first remarks to
\njournalists upon his return was that his top priority was to make
\ninternal consolidation after being absent for five months after
\nthe recent resignation of senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution
\nand four other deputy governors. Sjahril said that Anwar had
\nbetrayed him.<\/p>\n
A House special team is currently debating the government-
\nproposed bill on the amendment of the central bank law which
\nwould remove legal obstacles to oust Sjahril from Bank Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Under the existing central bank law, approved by the House in
\nMay 1999, the governor and other members of the board of
\ngovernors can not be dismissed unless they have been proven to
\nhave committed a crime, incapacitated or resign voluntarily.<\/p>\n
Under the proposed changes, the House can dismiss a board
\nmember if he or she fails to perform or if he or she is inactive
\nfor more than three consecutive months. (rei\/byg\/bby\/ylt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sjahril-to-face-trial-soon-abdurrahman-1447893297",
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