Court sentences Hendra to life for corruption
Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The former president of the now-defunct BHS Bank, Hendra Rahardja, was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for corruption charges involving Rp 2.6 billion (US$260 million).
The Central Jakarta District Court also sentenced Hendra's son, Eko Edi Putranto, a former BHS Bank commissioner, along with a former treasury director of the bank, Sherny Konjongian, to 20 years in jail each.
Never before in Indonesian legal history has someone been given such a severe punishment in a graft case.
But the precedent set by the decision was partly muted by the fact that all three defendants were tried in absentia.
While Hendra, 60, is currently being in the custody of Australian authorities, the whereabouts of the other defendants are not known.
The panel of judges - Asep Iwan Iriawan, Herri Swantoro, and Subardi - ordered that the defendants pay Rp 1.95 trillion in compensation to the state.
In lieu of direct compensation, the prosecution was instructed by the court to seize the former bank's assets.
State prosecutors had already seized the assets in 1998, and partially sold them off for Rp 13.5 billion.
Hendra is the brother of Eddy Tanzil, the owner of the now- defunct PT Golden Key Group, who was sentenced to 20 years in jail for a corruption case involving Rp 1.3 trillion.
Tanzil, too, managed to flee justice by escaping from Cipinang penitentiary in East Jakarta in May 1996, after serving two years of his sentence.
Hendra was abroad when the Attorney General's Office named him a suspect on Nov. 1, 1997. He has not returned home since.
Hendra was arrested by Australian immigration officers at Kingsford-Smith International Airport in Sydney after arriving there from Hong Kong on June 1, 1999.
He was arrested on the request of the Indonesian police through international law enforcement.
Indonesia has asked Australia to extradite Hendra, but authorities are still awaiting a final ruling in the Australian court system before returning him to Indonesian custody.
After losing at the Magistrates' Court, Hendra appealed his case to the Federal Court and eventually the High Court, but to no avail. But he can still appeal.
At this point, "We are just waiting for the ruling from the Australian Ministry of Justice," said Brig. Gen. Dadang Garnida of Interpol at the National Police Headquarters.
Indonesian Ambassador to Australia Sudjanan said that the process of extraditing Hendra back to Indonesia would likely take some time.
"Even when a decision has been reached by the Australian Ministry of Justice, it will still be challenged by Hendra's lawyers," Sudjanan told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview from Canberra.
According to the verdict presented by the Central Jakarta District Court, Bank BHS received Bank Indonesia Liquidity Credit (BKBI) from 1993 to 1997, and the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI), from 1997 to 1999. Most of the money was misappropriated.
The central bank extended BLBI funds totaling Rp 144.5 trillion to 48 banks to help them cope with the economic crisis, but 95 percent of the funds were misused.
Earlier, two former bankers were convicted.
The first, Hendrawan Harjono of Bank Aspac, received one year, and was fined Rp 500 million for violating banking laws. The other, David Nusa Wijaya of Bank Umum Servitia, was sentenced to one year in jail for corruption, and ordered to pay back the Rp 1.27 billion he had misused.
Hendra Rahardja's journey
Date -- Event
Nov. 1, 1997 -- The government closed 16 ailing private banks, including Bank Harapan Sentosa (BHS) and Bank Guna International (BGI) owned by Hendra, who was abroad when the announcement was made. He was later named a suspect in the Rp 3.6 trillion misuse of Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) funds.
Nov. 17, 1997 -- Hendra's lawyer Alamsyah Hanafiah claimed his client would return home to take responsibility for his two liquidated banks.
June 1, 1999 -- Hendra was arrested by immigration officers at Kingsford-Smith International Airport in Sydney after Australian police received a red notice from Indonesian police.
June 16, 1999 -- A procedural hearing at a Sydney court failed to decide whether Hendra would be extradited due to the absence of the written request from Indonesian authorities. Indonesia later fulfilled the request.
Sept. 29, 1999 -- National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar M. Sianipar said Sydney court had ruled that Hendra could be extradited to Indonesia. But as of today Australia has not been able to extradite Hendra, pending the final decision of the case.
Aug. 22, 2001 -- C. Jakarta District Court began the trial of Hendra
Nov. 9, 2001 -- Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said Indonesia's reluctance to extradite Abu Quassey, an Egyptian people-smuggling suspect, was retaliation for Australia's refusal to extradite Hendra.
March 22, 2002 -- C. Jakarta District Court sentenced Hendra to life.
Source: The Jakarta Post