Ex-BRI bosses hit with long jail terms
Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta
Two former Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) branch heads were found guilty on Monday of stealing Rp 216 billion in state funds and sentenced to 16 years and six years in prison respectively.
Deden Gumilar Sapoetra, the former head of the BRI Setitiga Senen branch, was found guilty of channeling Rp 206 billion (US$22 million) worth of credits without proper procedures.
Agus Riyanto, the former subbranch head of BRI Tanah Abang, was found guilty of enriching himself with Rp 10 billion of state funds.
Deden was sentenced to 16 years in prison and fined Rp 1 billion, and was ordered to repay the state Rp 30 billion. Agus was sentenced to six years in prison and fined Rp 200 million and ordered to repay the state Rp 2 billion.
"The defendant (Deden) has been found guilty of collective corruption, using state funds to enrich himself and others by giving fictitious credits without following proper procedures," said judge Soeripto of the Central Jakarta District Court.
"The defendant is sentenced to 16 years in jail and fined Rp 1 billion, or he can serve an additional five months in prison," the judge announced.
"If the defendant cannot repay the state (Rp 30 billion) within one month, his assets will be seized and auctioned off. If the defendant's assets are not sufficient to repay the state, another three years of imprisonment will be added to his jail term," Soeripto ruled.
The defendant and his wife broke down in tears when they heard the verdict. His lawyer Amir Aziz said they would appeal.
"The masterminds behind all of this were Yudi Kartolo and Hartono Tjahjadjaja. My client was used by Yudi. My client did not receive the money," the lawyer said.
Yudi and Hartono are the commissioner and director of PT Delta Makmur Express, respectively, the company allegedly used as the vehicle to take the money from the BRI branches.
Prosecutor Tatang Sutarna, who had asked for a 20-year sentence for Deden, said he was satisfied with the verdict and the sentence.
At the Central Jakarta District Court, judge Sudradjat Dimyati ruled that Agus had been found guilty of enriching himself with Rp 10 billion in state funds.
"As a former subbranch head, he misused his position to enrich himself, damaging the people's trust in the state bank," he said.
The judge sentenced Agus to six years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of Rp 200 million, or serve an additional three months in prison. Agus was also ordered to repay the state Rp 2 billion or serve an additional year in jail.
Prosecutor Payaman had been seeking a 10-year prison sentence for Agus and said he is yet to decide whether to appeal.
The BRI loan fraud took place between January and September 2003. The two former bank officers were brought to court for falsifying deposit accounts belonging to a number of customers, including Bumiputera 1912 Mutual Life Insurance, to be used as collateral for the loans.
Both Deden and Agus violated banking procedures as they did not consult with their treasury deputies in approving the loans.
The BRI case was the second major bank fraud reported to the police, following the revelation of an alleged Rp 1.7 trillion fraud at Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI).