AGO's plans to withdraw disputed funds criticized
AGO's plans to withdraw disputed funds criticized
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite increasing protests, the Attorney General's Office
(AGO) insisted upon executing a court ruling on Friday requiring
Bank Permata, owned by the government, to return Rp 546.5 billion
(about US$65 million) in funds to a company called PT Era Giat
Prima (EGP).
"Whatever happens, the court ruling must be adhered to because
the legal decision on the issue is final," AGO spokesman Kemas
Yahya Rahman announced to the public.
The dispute surrounding the funds started when the now-
defunct Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), in 2002
merged five ailing banks -- including Bank Bali -- to form Bank
Permata, now the country's 10th largest bank in terms of assets.
It later turned out that during the merger process, the agency
had used Rp 546.5 billion stashed away in a Bank Bali account --
but the money was not supposed to be used as it was the subject
of legal proceedings surrounding the Bank Bali case involving the
owner of EGP, Djoko Tjandra.
The Bank Bali scandal erupted in 1999 and revolved around
allegations that EGP had illegally obtained the funds from the
bank. IBRA then canceled the transaction, while Djoko and others
involved were charged with corruption and convicted by lower
courts.
But the Supreme Court last year overturned Djoko's conviction
on all charges, which means that IBRA -- or the government -- now
must return the disputed money to Djoko and EGP.
The AGO's plan to execute the ruling was greeted with protests
from many anticorruption activists, who said it would cause
losses of state funds.
The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) demanded the AGO
postpone the execution plan and seek a judicial review on the
case to annul the ruling.
"That's the only way for the AGO to act as a "lawyer of the
state", instead of becoming a "lawyer for Djoko" as it currently
shows in this case," ICW said in a statement, referring to Djoko
Tjandra, a co-owner of EGP.
The corruption watchdog based his argument on the fact that
the transaction between Bank Bali and EGP violated existing
regulations and that the Bank Bali case was still underway for
other suspects.
"If the AGO insists on executing the ruling, we, along with
other elements of society, will file a class action law suit
against the AGO," ICW said in the statement signed by coordinator
Teten Masduki.