Ex-minister quizzed as witness in graft case
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Former finance minister Bambang Subianto was questioned as a witness in a Rp 520 billion (US$62 million) World Bank loans scandal, Jakarta Police said on Tuesday.
Police corruption unit chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Anton Wahono said Bambang was the director general in the Ministry of Finance who disbursed the money to beleaguered state-owned enterprise PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) during Indonesia's economic crisis of 1998.
"We needed to get information from (Bambang) about whether the disbursement procedure was in accordance with the regulations because he was the one who signed the documents approving the funds disbursement," Anton said.
"According to our examination of the available data and his statement, our preliminary conclusion is there was nothing wrong with the disbursement procedure. However, we hope we can find new leads from his detailed explanation," he said.
The scandal took place in 1998 when Indonesia was in the middle of a severe economic crisis. The government established the Investment Funds Account (RDI) using a loan from the World Bank to support state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
PT RNI, one of the SOEs, with a core business in sugar supply, submitted a proposal asking for Rp 580 billion. The proposal said the funds would be used to provide cheap medicine and hospital equipment nationwide. However, the company failed to pay back all funds to the government.
The Supreme Audit Agency, which examined the case, found irregularities in the disbursement process and reported it to the police.
"PT RNI had received payments from hospitals to which it had supplied the equipment and medicine. However, it has only returned Rp 60 billion to the Ministry of Finance. Where is the remaining Rp 520 billion?," Anton said.
After investigating, police believed the money had been used by PT RNI to pay back its other loans as well as to build its sugar factories, he said.
The police earlier had asked another former finance minister, Mar'ie Muhammad, to submit relevant data regarding the scandal. They plan to meet with Mar'ie sometime this week.
Anton had said on Monday that PT RNI former director police named only as "Hussein S" was linked to the scandal.
Police have not yet charged anyone in relation to the case.