Amien joins call for action against IBRA debtors

Amien joins call for action against IBRA debtors

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais on Friday
urged officials to drop plans to revoke criminal charges against
ex-bankers who have not repaid trillions of rupiah in state
loans, after senior officials appeared reluctant to authorize
such a move.

Calling it a crime against the nation, Amien said the misuse
of some Rp 138 trillion (about US$15.33 billion) in Bank
Indonesia emergency liquidity loans, should be dealt with
accordingly.

"We must let the issue be handled as a criminal case. This
concerns losses to the country so it's a crime," Amien told
reporters as quoted by Antara.

His statement reflects a simmering unease among officials who
must come to terms with a four-year old deal to drop criminal
charges against the ex-bankers once they repaid their debts. For
most of the 35 debtors, the payment deadline expires this year.

The government's claim that some of the bankers had settled or
were close to settling their debts however runs counter to
widespread suspicion that they cheated on their repayments.

Four of the ex bankers have been recommended for a release and
discharge status that would clear them of criminal charges.

Undecided, though, is on whose authority the status would be
granted.

The choice falls between the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
Agency (IBRA), which signed the original debt settlement deal,
the State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi, who is
in charge of IBRA, and further up, the Coordinating Minister for
the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri and the Attorney General's
Office were also told to authorize the document.

None of the above said they would sign the release and
discharge documents. Some officials gave conflicting statements.

This indecision first surfaced on Monday, following a Cabinet
meeting that decided to go ahead with the present debt settlement
scheme but without naming who should authorize that move.

Minister Dorodjatun told reporters after the Cabinet meeting
that a decision would be reached by early next month, in a
statement signaling the rift among officials.

Analysts said the apparent reluctance showed the government
was unsure of its own policy, and feared that pushing ahead with
the unpopular move could trigger a public backlash.

"Their attempt to shove the job to each others' corner is
actually a good sign, it shows they still have a conscious,"
Amien said. "They know it's wrong, that's why they don't dare
sign it."

IBRA chairman Syafruddin Temengung however brushed aside that
notion. "There's no such thing, I think that's quite clear," he
said when asked if they were trying to avoid responsibility, as
reported by detik.com.

According to Amien, the out-of-court settlement with the ex
bankers has proven to be a ticking time bomb. "Let's see how far
IBRA and the debtors can play this game. Do they really want to
pay on time?"

Several of the ex bankers who have signed up for IBRA's
shareholders settlement program are among the country's
wealthiest tycoons.

The program has three categories, the most infamous of which
is the 1998 Master of Settlement and Acquisition Agreement
(MSAA).

Under the MSAA, debtors may settle their debts by surrendering
assets which IBRA sells to recoup the lost funds. But not only
are the assets sold at heavily discounted prices, critics said
many of them were repurchased by the debtors using third parties
as investors.