Ali Wardhana attempts to clear himself in graft case

Ali Wardhana attempts to clear himself in graft case

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Former minister of finance Ali Wardhana attempted to clear his
name in the US$240.9 million scandal at state-owned investment
firm Bahana Pembinaan Usaha Indonesia (BPUI) by saying that he
did not know the details of many transactions in the firm.

Ali made the statement in the trial of the firm's former
president director Sudjiono Timan.

The witness served as president commissioner of the BPUI board
of commissioners between 1994 and 2001, when the alleged graft
took place.

During the hearing Ali repeatedly claimed that he did not know
details of many transactions made or decided by BPUI's board of
directors.

"As president commissioner, I know the grand design, but not
the details and technicalities," Ali said.

Ali said that the board of commissioners did not intervene in
the operational decisions made by the board of directors in order
to give them the necessary space to manage the company.

He admitted that should any problem occur, they (the board of
directors) must report to the board of commissioners.

But Ali said that the shareholders meeting never presented any
criticism or negative inputs to the board of directors concerning
the company's financial status.

"The BPKP audit report was too technical, it could only be
understood by experts," Ali said repeatedly.

Presiding Judge Jadnya expressed doubt over the statement,
saying that the shareholders -- the Ministry of Finance and Bank
Indonesia -- had their own experts and they should have
questioned the audit report.

The Attorney General's Office has named Ali as a suspect in
the same graft case, but it is not clear yet whether or not he
would appear in court as a defendant.

PT BPUI is a company under the central bank responsible for
channeling funds to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To
date, it has helped more than 440,000 SME members.

Ali was the minister of finance from 1968 to 1983. For the
next five years he was the coordinating minister for the economy,
trade, industry and development.

According to Timan's indictment, Ali had approved the $19
million loan to Virgin Island-based Penta Investment Ltd.

Timan, 42, has been charged under the Anticorruption Law for
abusing his authority to amass wealth for himself and other
people. He can face a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment.

During the defendant's term, from 1994 to 2001, PT BPUI had
disbursed the money to several companies that did not qualify for
the program, according to the indictment.

It had extended loans to major debtors including Kredit Asia
Finance Ltd. and Festival Company Inc. The former is jointly
owned by tycoon Hashim Djojohadikusumo and Agus Anwar, the owner
of the now-defunct Bank Pelita, while the latter belongs to
Timan's close friend tycoon Prajogo Pangestu.

Sudjiono had also approved the disbursement of Rp 263 billion
from PT BPUI's investment fund account (RDI) to both companies
and Virgin island-based PT Penta Investment Ltd, an apparently
fictitious company jointly established by Timan and Prajogo.

BPUI had also allegedly embezzled some Rp 1.1 trillion when
taking over the debt of publicly listed timber company PT Barito
Pacific owned by Prajogo in exchange for shares.

The hearing will resume on Friday, when former finance
minister Mar'ie Muhammad is scheduled to testify.