BI governor claims his case is tainted by politics
Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Sjahril Sabirin's team of lawyers reiterated in the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday that their client's case was tainted by a personal revenge motive relating to former president Abdurrahman Wahid.
Similar to the defense arguments presented by Sjahril last month, the lawyers said that their case originated from the former president's resentment of the defendant's decision to close Bank Papan Sejahtera in which Wahid, according to Sjahril's chief lawyer, Mohammad Assegaf, owned an 11 percent stake.
"Since Sjahril Sabirin refused to resign from his post as the governor of the Central Bank after the former President offered him an ambassadorial position, he was named a defendant in this corruption case," Assegaf told the court.
Sjahril is charged with violating Anticorruption Law No.3/1971 prohibiting personal enrichment at the expense of the state. In an earlier hearing, prosecutor Jan Merre sought a four-year jail term for Sjahril
The case evolved from the disbursement of Rp 904 billion (about US$90 million) of Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) funds claimed by Bank Bali to be loans which were issued to three defunct private banks, the Bank Dagang Negara Indonesia, Bank Tiara, and Bank Umum Nasional.
Sjahril, as the governor of BI, verified the claim and ordered IBRA directors to disburse the money to Bank Bali in February and June of 1999.
There was third party involvement in the disbursement as well, PT Era Giat Prima, chaired by Golkar treasurers, Setya Novanto, and Joko Chandra, received a commission of Rp 546 billion from Bank Bali for assistance.
This occurred during the 1999 election campaign in which embattled former president Habibie, Golkar's candidate, was seeking another term.
In earlier investigations, Sjahril reportedly attended a meeting between Setya, Joko, the former director of Bank Bali Rudy Ramli, the former minister of investment and state enterprises Tanri Abeng and former chairman of the Supreme Council A.A Baramuli at the Mulia Hotel in Central Jakarta to discuss the disbursement's details.
Wednesday in court, Sjahril's lawyers denied that their client was at the meeting that took place on February 1999.
"According to witnesses, the meeting was held from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. while Sjahril was at his office from 5:45 p.m. to 6:50 p.m.," Assegaf told the court.
Presiding Judge Soebardi adjourned the court until Dec. 20 to hear the prosecutor's response.