Suspect bank officers in BNI scam start mudslinging<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Bank officers in the Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) scam have
\nresponded to the high profile graft case by slinging a startling
\narray of mud at one other.<\/p>\n
Rivai M. Noer, a lawyer for former BNI Kebayoran Baru branch
\nmanager and suspect Kusadiyuwono said on Thursday that his client
\nwas often bypassed in the bogus letters of credit disbursement by
\nthe foreign customer relations head Edi Santoso, another suspect
\nin the scandal.<\/p>\n
\"My client doesn't know anything about the transactions
\ninvolving Edi and the businessmen. Most of the disbursements of
\nill-gotten money was done without consent from Kusadiyuwono,\"
\nRivai said.<\/p>\n
Both Kusadiyuwono and Edi are currently in police custody as
\nsuspects in the case, which centers around the redemption of 41
\nfaked letters of credits, involving several foreign banks in
\nAfrica and Europe, worth Rp 1.7 by BNI's Kebayoran Baru branch in
\nSouth Jakarta from July 2002 through June 2003.<\/p>\n
A total of 11 people, including key suspect Adrian Waworuntu,
\nare currently in police custody being interrogated. Another key
\nsuspect, Maria Paulien Lumowa, is still at large.<\/p>\n
The case took on a political dimension when rumors began to be
\nwidely circulated in several local newspapers and TV stations
\nthat three of the Golkar presidential candidates were somehow
\ninvolved in the scandal. Edi told the press on Tuesday that he
\nmet Gen. (ret) Wiranto twice in the course of disbursing the
\nfunds, suggesting that he had been psychologically pressured into
\ndisbursing the letters of credits issued by questionable overseas
\nbanks.<\/p>\n
Wiranto, one of Golkar's seven presidential candidates has
\ndenied that he knew or had meetings with Edi. He also filed a
\ncomplaint with the police against Edi and his lawyer Herman
\nKadir.<\/p>\n
Edi, according to Rivai, had proceeded with the transactions
\neven without his client's approval. He added that his client knew
\nOllah Agam, another suspect, only, and that it was Edi who
\nintroduced him to Ollah in November 2002.<\/p>\n
\"Kusadiyuwono has never met any of the (detained) suspects in
\nthe case or with Wiranto,\" said Rivai, while reiterating that his
\nclient did not know Wiranto at all.<\/p>\n
However, Rivai did not specify how many letters of credits had
\npossibly been disbursed without Kusadiyuwono's notification.<\/p>\n
Another BNI suspect, Nirwan Ali, the former operational
\nmanager of the branch, was questioned intensively by the police
\non Thursday but released because he has just undergone a heart
\noperation. He has made no public comment so far.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Edi's lawyer Herman Kadir said that all the
\nstatements made by Kuasdiyuwono's lawyer were lies.<\/p>\n
\"No, they are not true. The finalization of the transactions
\nshould be made by the branch manager and someone at headquarters.
\nMy client could not possibly disburse money without their
\napproval,\" said Herman.<\/p>\n
He also said that he was ready to take on a lawsuit filed by
\nWiranto's lawyers because he had 20 lawyers to back him up.<\/p>\n
Edi revealed in a letter to the press on Tuesday that he had
\nmet with Wiranto, twice during the period in which the scam was
\ngoing on, concerning Wiranto's plan to run for president in 2004.<\/p>\n
Wiranto, trough his lawyers, denied on Wednesday all of the
\ncontents of the letter, stating that he did not know Edi or any
\nof the scandal suspects.<\/p>\n
Police said that they were not aware of the letter released by
\nEdi Santoso to the press but promised to investigate all
\nallegations.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/suspect-bank-officers-in-bni-scam-start-mudslinging-1447893297",
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