BI chief convicted
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After 14 months of prolonged trials, Governor of Bank Indonesia Sjahril Sabirin was finally sentenced to three years in jail on Wednesday for his involvement in the disbursement of Rp 904 billion (US$90.4 million) of Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) funds to privately run Bank Bali in 1999.
Central Jakarta District Court also fined the defendant Rp 15 million or a further three months in jail.
When hearing the verdict, Sjahril was clearly shocked, as were the other two defendants -- businessman and director to factoring firm PT EGP Djoko S. Tjandra and former IBRA deputy chairman Pande N. Lubis -- who were acquitted of all charges related to the scandal in August and November 2000 respectively. He expressed optimism last week that the judges would release him from the corruption charge.
"I'm very disappointed with the verdict. I could have resigned a long time ago but I didn't," said Sjahril, who was accompanied by a team of lawyers led by Muhammad Assegaf.
Sjahril, who looked exhausted during the eight-and-a-half-hour hearing, said he was considered launching an appeal, so the legal process was not yet over.
Chief prosecutor Y.W. Mere greeted the ruling.
"I'm glad we have been able to fulfill public expectations and a sense of justice," he told reporters after the hearing.
Unlike Djoko and Pande, who were previously charged with violating contracts, Mere charged Sjahril with violating the prudential banking principle.
Mere had recommended the court sentence Sjahril to four years in jail. The 59-year-old defendant was accused of violating Article 1 of the 1971 Law on corruption, prohibiting the enrichment of oneself or others at the expense of the state.
"Defendant Sjahril Sabirin has been proven guilty of committing corruption that has caused financial losses to the state," said chief judge Subardi. The court was crowded with journalists and Bank Indonesia employees, including senior deputy governor Anwar Nasution and former governor Radius Prawiro.
The 210-page verdict, which was read in turn by judges Asep Irwan Iriawan and Ali Akmal Haky, said the defendant had violated the prudential banking principle, which requires bankers to follow procedures in banking activities.
The disbursement of the Bank Bali claim took place at around 8 p.m. on June 1, 1999 through state account No. 502.000.002 just nine hours after Bank Indonesia received a letter from the Ministry of Finance ordering the central bank to disburse money to the private bank through the account.
The letter ordered the central bank to open the account to enable the government to disburse money to troubled banks.
Sjahril had already approved Bank Bali's claim before obtaining the letter. His approval came after receiving a document from IBRA, which was signed by deputy chairman Farid Haryanto. The document verified that Bank Bali was eligible to obtain the claim and asked the central bank to pay the credit.
Based on the state's credit disbursement procedure, a request to pay credit must be signed by the chairman of any institution authorized to request credit disbursement, such as IBRA.
"The defendant must have been aware that the letter of request did not have the signature of IBRA chairman Glenn M. Yusuf. Instead, it was only signed by the deputy alone," Asep said, adding that Glenn had been off since May 18, 1999.
The Bank Bali scandal drew public attention after banking expert Pradjoto told the media on Aug. 1, 1999, that the disbursement of Rp 904 billion to Bank Bali was thanks to the help of PT Era Giat Prima (PT EGP). The company, owned by Golkar legislator Setya Novanto, accepted Rp 546 billion of the Rp 904 billion of Bank Bali's claim.
Sjahril's indictment stated that Bank Bali's claim was paid by Bank Indonesia after he attended a meeting at Hotel Mulia in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Feb. 12, 1999 with former Bank Bali director Rudy Ramli, former minister of investment and state enterprises development Tanri Abeng, Novanto, businessmen Firman Soetjahja and Irvan Gunardwi and former supreme advisory council chairman A.A. Baramuli.
Many believe the money was intended to finance the reelection of then president B.J. Habibie, who eventually lost his post in October 1999.
Bank Indonesia disbursed money from the state to reimburse Bank Bali's loan to three defunct private banks -- Bank BDNI, Bank Tiara and Bank Umum Nasional. The three banks were liquidated during the economic crisis in 1997.
Sjahril was declared a suspect in the scandal in June 2000 and was last year detained for over five months. He refused to step down from his position.