AGO to bring Bapepam chief to court
AGO to bring Bapepam chief to court
Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has vowed to send a
corruption case involving Capital Market Supervisory Agency
(Bapepam) chairman Herwidayatmo to court before the possible
presidential election runoff in September.
AGO spokesman Kemas Yahya told The Jakarta Post during the
weekend that a team of prosecutors were in the process of
finalizing the case, which would be delivered to the court as
soon as possible.
"We are hoping to conclude (the case) before the runoff of the
presidential election in September, with Herwidayatmo and former
minister of state enterprises Tanri Abeng as the main suspects."
The office had been investigating the case since 2002, Kemas
said.
The AGO declared Herwidayatmo a suspect in October last year,
while Tanri was named in January, 2002, he said.
The corruption case centers on the sale of the government's 51
percent stake in container terminal PT Jakarta International
Container Terminal (JICT) in 1999, which the office charges was
not conducted in accordance with regulations.
Grosbeak Pte Ltd., a unit of the world's largest independent
container port operator Hutchison Port Holdings, won the sale
and paid US$215 million for the stake.
However, according to reports, which have yet to confirmed by
Grosbeak, only $190 million of the total $215 million paid by the
firm went into the state's coffers, with the remaining $25
million left in a JICT bank account for an unclear purpose.
"The state has suffered at least Rp 12.9 billion ($1.5
million) in losses due to the sale," said Kemas without
elaborating.
During JICT's privatization process, Tanri was the state
minister for state enterprises, while Herwidayatmo was his deputy
in charge of privatization.
Herwidayatmo confirmed recently he was a suspect in the case
but said he would only step down as chairman of Bapepam if there
was a guilty verdict from the court, or if Minister of Finance
Boediono ordered him to do so.
"I did my job (at the time) based on my authority and orders
from my superior... I will not resign unless Minister of Finance
Boediono orders me to do so," said Herwidayatmo after a seminar
on Friday.
"The AGO questioned me long time ago and I have explained the
case to them... I deny the charges here, and I think you
(reporters) know more. I will certainly abide by (any legal
decision) because I am a good citizen," he said.
Bapepam is under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance.
Separately, Tanri also denied the corruption charges, saying
there were no losses to the state.
"There have been no violations by me or Herwidayatmo. The
State Comptroller (BPKP) has declared no losses to the state
during the privatization," Tanri said.
"The case has been going on for so long because the AGO has
insufficient evidence to bring us to court. They are afraid of
being humiliated if they drop (the case) after declaring us
suspects," he said.
Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has vowed to send a
corruption case involving Capital Market Supervisory Agency
(Bapepam) chairman Herwidayatmo to court before the possible
presidential election runoff in September.
AGO spokesman Kemas Yahya told The Jakarta Post during the
weekend that a team of prosecutors were in the process of
finalizing the case, which would be delivered to the court as
soon as possible.
"We are hoping to conclude (the case) before the runoff of the
presidential election in September, with Herwidayatmo and former
minister of state enterprises Tanri Abeng as the main suspects."
The office had been investigating the case since 2002, Kemas
said.
The AGO declared Herwidayatmo a suspect in October last year,
while Tanri was named in January, 2002, he said.
The corruption case centers on the sale of the government's 51
percent stake in container terminal PT Jakarta International
Container Terminal (JICT) in 1999, which the office charges was
not conducted in accordance with regulations.
Grosbeak Pte Ltd., a unit of the world's largest independent
container port operator Hutchison Port Holdings, won the sale
and paid US$215 million for the stake.
However, according to reports, which have yet to confirmed by
Grosbeak, only $190 million of the total $215 million paid by the
firm went into the state's coffers, with the remaining $25
million left in a JICT bank account for an unclear purpose.
"The state has suffered at least Rp 12.9 billion ($1.5
million) in losses due to the sale," said Kemas without
elaborating.
During JICT's privatization process, Tanri was the state
minister for state enterprises, while Herwidayatmo was his deputy
in charge of privatization.
Herwidayatmo confirmed recently he was a suspect in the case
but said he would only step down as chairman of Bapepam if there
was a guilty verdict from the court, or if Minister of Finance
Boediono ordered him to do so.
"I did my job (at the time) based on my authority and orders
from my superior... I will not resign unless Minister of Finance
Boediono orders me to do so," said Herwidayatmo after a seminar
on Friday.
"The AGO questioned me long time ago and I have explained the
case to them... I deny the charges here, and I think you
(reporters) know more. I will certainly abide by (any legal
decision) because I am a good citizen," he said.
Bapepam is under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance.
Separately, Tanri also denied the corruption charges, saying
there were no losses to the state.
"There have been no violations by me or Herwidayatmo. The
State Comptroller (BPKP) has declared no losses to the state
during the privatization," Tanri said.
"The case has been going on for so long because the AGO has
insufficient evidence to bring us to court. They are afraid of
being humiliated if they drop (the case) after declaring us
suspects," he said.