Court jails controversial businessman for 8 years

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A West Java district court sentenced a controversial businessmen to eight-years' jail on Thursday for violating banking laws and embezzlement, Antara reported.

Sukabumi District Court Judge Jasinta Daniel also ordered Ramly Araby to pay a Rp 10 billion (US$11 million) fine and return company assets to investors.

The director of PT Qurnia Subur Alam Raya (QSAR) was found guilty of violating banking laws by collecting public funds and the Criminal Code by embezzling the money.

During the trial, the court heard testimony from six company directors who were declared suspects in the case, namely Endjang Muhamad, Meliana, Mohamad Kamal, Warman Pasawahan, Hendra Supriatna, Yandi Sofiandi and Ramlan Baskara -- Ramly's younger brother.

During the trial, hundreds of QSAR investors attended the trial, vastly outnumbering the few security officers who guarded the court building.

A farming company, PT QSAR had, since 1997, developed its farming areas in several villages in Sukabumi, including Kadudampit, Kebonpedes, Gunung Jaya and Sukamanis.

Based in Kadudampit village in Sukabumi, the company collapsed last year shattering the dreams of its 6,480 investors who had paid the company Rp 413 billion.

At the height of the investors' fury, several top ranking politicians, including Vice President Hamzah Haz, Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly Amien Rais and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representative's Tosari Widjaja, stood up to defend the company.

Hamzah went as far as putting forward the idea of taking over the bankrupt company because it was "a legitimate business that needed the government's help because it has succeeded in sending 155 export items worth hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars."

Speculation has been rife that the political elites may have had stakes in the collapsed company.