Attorney General to probe Hokiarto's role in Goro case

JAKARTA (JP): A former Bank Bukopin director of commercial affairs, Noval Hasan, will be questioned on Monday at the Attorney General's Office in connection with the alleged role of businessman Hokiarto in the Goro land exchange scam.

"A team of prosecutors will summon him on Monday at the office. The questions will focus on PT Goro Batara Sakti's application for Rp 20 billion in credit," spokesman for the Attorney General's Office Soehandoyo said on Friday.

Noval will be the 10th witness summoned by the office concerning alleged corruption by Hokiarto in the land exchange deal in 1995 between the Goro wholesaler and the State Logistics Agency (Bulog). It allegedly caused Rp 95.4 billion (US$12.9 million) in losses to the state, he said.

Former Goro president commissioner Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra and former president of the firm Ricardo Gelael have been on trial at the South Jakarta District Court since March.

Charges were dropped against former Bulog chief Beddu Amang but he has appeared as a witness.

According to the prosecutor's indictment, PT Goro applied for a loan of Rp 20 billion from the bank in 1997 to appropriate a 60-hectare plot in Marunda, North Jakarta. The plot was intended to be exchanged for Bulog's 50 hectares in Kelapa Gading, also in North Jakarta.

Bukopin rejected Goro's proposal. Ricardo and Hokiarto returned to the bank with a deposit guarantee of Rp 23 billion approved by Beddu.

The bank approved the proposal and disbursed the Rp 20 billion to Goro.

The company provided Rp 16.25 billion to Hokiarto, who told Ricardo he would be able to appropriate 35 hectares of the 60 hectares.

Based on the indictment, the Attorney General's Office has temporarily detained Hokiarto since Monday on charges of corruption of the funds earmarked for purchase of the 60 hectares in Marunda.

Hokiarto admitted during Thursday's summoning to saving Rp 11 billion of the funds in his private bank account, reports said.

But Antara quoted the prosecutors as saying on Monday that Hokiarto allegedly spent Rp 15.99 billion of the money for personal use and only allocated Rp 1.1 billion to appropriate 35 hectares.

"We will question him further later," Soehandoyo said.

The office, he added, focused its investigation on the available documents for the Marunda land appropriation, but also suspected Hokiarto committed fraud.

The other witnesses summoned in the investigation include Ricardo, former Marunda village chief Rahman Saputra and John Ramses, a former operational director of PT Goro. (asa)