Djoko freed from all charges

Djoko freed from all charges

JAKARTA (JP): South Jakarta District Court on Monday
exonerated chief defendant Djoko S. Tjandra of all charges in the
Rp 546 billion (US$64.2 million) Bank Bali scandal on a legal
technicality and the prosecutor's failure to back his arguments
up with testimony by witnesses.

"Prosecutor Antasari Azhar has failed to present more than one
witness to prove that the defendant had influenced officials to
disburse Rp 904 billion in funds, as earlier charged by the
prosecutor," presiding judge Soedarto told the hearing at the
district court.

The defendant, a director of the trading and investment firm
PT Era Giat Prima (EGP), had taken over Bank Bali's interbank
loans from the closed Bank Daging Nasional Indonesia (BDNI) and
had allegedly influenced certain officials, including suspended
Central Bank (BI) governor Sjahril Sabirin, to disburse Rp 904
billion in repayment of the funds.

The action resulted in Rp 904 billion in losses to the state.

Several witnesses at the earlier preliminary hearing had noted
that PT EGP should never have taken over Bank Bali's interbank
loans since they were guaranteed by the government under the bank
restructuring program.

Earlier, Antasari had demanded an eighteen month-jail term for
Djoko, accusing the defendant of having violated subsection 1a of
Article 1 of the 1971 Anti-Corruption Law, which carries a life
sentence.

Antasari noted on Monday that he would appeal the verdict.

In the absence of witnesses who could testify that the
defendant had in any way influenced any official, judge Soedarto
said that it only remained for the panel of judges to decide on
the matter of the January 1999 cessie (waiver of legal rights)
contract.

"That's the legal technicality. A dispute involving a written
agreement is a civil case," Soedarto said.

The scandal originated from the failure of three private banks
-- Bank BDNI, Bank Tiara and Bank Umum Nasional -- to repay a
total of Rp 904 billion to Bank Bali, a debt which remained
unpaid when the three were closed down by BI in late 1998 due to
poor financial records.

Bank Bali then asked the government for the loans to be repaid
as it had since been placed in the restructuring program.

The cessie contract stated that PT EGP was obliged to pay Rp
598 billion in negotiable instruments as collateral to Bank Bali
by June 11 last year, which amount was never paid.

Instead, Bank Bali and PT EGP agreed that PT EGP would just
pay the bank 60 percent of the value of the negotiable
instruments -- that is Rp 358 billion in cash -- which PT EGP
gladly handed over.

"This is legal. According to Articles 1338 and 1340 of the
Civil Code, as long as both parties agree upon something, nobody
has a right to stop them from doing so," Soedarto said after the
hearing. (ylt)