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.