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)