BI corruption probe half finished: Police
BI corruption probe half finished: Police
JAKARTA (JP): Police have completed half of the investigation
into three former Bank Indonesia directors charged with
corruption that cost the state some Rp 1.5 trillion, an officer
said.
City police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman made the
announcement yesterday but refused to discuss the direction the
investigation was taking.
His men, he said, had gathered new evidence and clues which
could strongly build a case against the three former executives
of the central bank.
The two-star general, however, refused to explain why the
police had only managed to complete half of the investigation in
the eight-month-old case and details of new findings or leads.
"As you know, the investigation has been a bit slow as police
have to divide their attention (between many other cases that
occurred during the period)," Noegroho said.
He also refused to say whether or not the three were in police
custody.
"Do not only think about arresting them. The most important
thing here is to complete their dossiers so they can be brought
to trial," he said.
Noegroho denied accusations that the police had been secretive
about the case.
"We are still continuing our investigation.
"It is untrue that we were dragging our feet in probing the
matter," he said.
The three men are suspected of being involved in either
corruption or malfeasance at some troubled banks.
The three, Hendrobudiyanto, Paul Soetopo Tjokronegoro and Heru
Soepraptomo, were officially charged with corruption on Dec. 29
last year.
Hendrobudiyanto was the bank's director of private foreign
exchange supervision, Soetopo was director of market operations
and Heru was director of legal affairs.
Noegroho said Hendrobudiyanto, Paul and Heru had been charged
under Article 32 of Law number 3/1971 on corruption, which
carries a penalty of six years imprisonment and a maximum fine of
Rp 4 million.
"But they might face other charges, depending on the results
of the investigation," he said. (edt)