Ali Wardhana banned from traveling abroad

JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office has issued a travel ban for former minister of finance Ali Wardhana due to his alleged involvement in a corruption case.

The Office's spokesman Muljohardjo announced that Wardhana is banned from traveling overseas as the latter is strongly implicated in a scandal that happened during his term of office.

"The one-year travel ban has taken effect as of March 3 in order to facilitate the investigation in which Ali Wardhana is implicated in a case involving the company PT Bahana Pembinaan Usaha Indonesia, which has caused losses to the state," he said.

Muljohardjo, however, declined to reveal more details on the case.

Wardhana, 73, was the finance minister from 1968 to 1983. Throughout the following five years, he was the coordinating minister of economy, finance, and development supervision.

He is the most recent target of government officials under former Soeharto's cabinet which the Attorney General's Office is now investigating over corruption cases.

The office earlier named former minister of mines and energy Ida Bagus Sudjana and his predecessor Ginandjar Kartasasmita as suspects in different corruption cases.

On Tuesday, the office questioned Sudjana, former Pertamina president AR Ramli, and former coordinating minister of economy, finance, and development supervision Radius Prawiro. The two were questioned about the pipe construction scandal in Java that allegedly implicated Siti Hardijanti "Tutut" Rukmana, the eldest daughter of Soeharto.

Sudjana was questioned in connection with financial irregularities in a project involving state oil and gas company Pertamina and private oil company PT Ustraindo Petro Gas.

Sudjana, who also held the post of chief commissioner of Pertamina, is accused of abusing his power by resuming four technical assistance contracts with PT Ustraindo, which later resulted in losses of US$6.8 million to the state.

The contracts were made during the period of Sudjana's predecessor Ginandjar Kartasasmita in early 1992 and 1993. The contracts, according to investigators, were unnecessary because they covered oil fields which were still productive at the time.

Ginandjar was also named a suspect in the case, together with former Pertamina president Faisal Abda'oe and PT Ustraindo director Praptono H. Hupojo.

The contracts covered oil fields in Bunyu, East Kalimantan, Prabumulih and Pendopo in South Sumatra, and Jatibarang on the north coast of West Java.

The contracts were later amended, reducing the amount of crude oil received by government and requiring Pertamina to cover the costs of oil development in the contract areas, which should have been borne by PT Ustraindo.

Pertamina also paid PT Ustraindo for each of its' employees who were assigned to work in the contract areas.

Denial

Sudjana, who was questioned as a witness, dismissed allegations that he had violated the law by approving the amendment of the projects' contract in early 1995, saying that he hadn't been involved in the amending process.

"I know about the amendment but I didn't sign it. There were special teams to formulate the technical amendments to the contract which was signed by the state oil and gas company Pertamina and private oil company PT Ustraindo Petro Gas," he told the media after a seven hour session.

Sudjana's lawyer Nengah Darmawan said that his client had previously been suspected of irregularities which caused state losses in projects that PT Ustraindo couldn't afford.

Sudjana suspended the projects for 13 months soon after he was appointed, Darmawan claimed.

However, he added, Sudjana later allowed the projects to resume in order to help the nationalized company and to avoid more losses to the state.

"At that time, Sudjana decided not to report the contract irregularities to the government because, back in 1994, former president Soeharto still wielded immense power," Darmawan said.

The lawyer also said that Sudjana had let Pertamina's board of commissioners make decisions to amend the contracts.

"He believed the team as its members included experts from the State Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), the finance ministry and oil experts," he said.

The Attorney General's Office is scheduled to question Sudjana, this time as a suspect, on Wednesday. (bby)