Former Bank Bali chiefs placed to house arrest
JAKARTA (JP): House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung and Attorney General Marzuki Darusman played a key role in permitting former Bank Bali president Rudy Ramli and three former directors to move from detention centers to be placed under house arrest, a lawyer said on Saturday.
"I met Akbar Tandjung in his office at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and coincidentally Pak Marzuki was also there," Bob R.E. Nasution, who leads Rudy's legal team, told The Jakarta Post.
"I made the request personally. They were gentlemanly enough to agree to the house arrests."
Rudy, who is suffering from ill health, was at the Kramat Jati National Police hospital in East Jakarta and was released at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Rusli Surjadi, Firman Soetjadja and Henri Kurniawan were released also on Friday by 4 p.m. from the Cipinang penitentiary in East Jakarta.
"There were no reasons to detain the four. The investigations about them are over and they are awaiting their trials.
"There should not be any fears that they will flee the country or tamper with evidence," Bob said.
Rusli's lawyer, Petrus Selestinus, shared Bob's optimism.
"The panel of judges who will preside over their case on Wednesday felt that the four suspects could be trusted not to flee the country," Petrus told the Post.
Separately, Col. Saleh Saaf of the National Police information unit said on Saturday that Rudy was given house arrest status because of his ill health.
"His health was deteriorating badly. So, he had to be put under house arrest," Saleh told the Post.
Saleh confirmed that legislator and businessman Setya Novanto, another suspect in the Rp 546 billion (US$80 million) Bank Bali scandal, was yet to be detained.
"It will take some time... things cannot be immediately rushed," Saleh told the Post.
National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi said earlier on Monday that Novanto had been detained.
In a related development, an official at the DPR, secretariat- general Soebandrio said on Friday that page 54 of the "long form" PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit was accidentally missed during the photocopying process.
"We apologize for this slip up. Those who need the missing page can pick it up from the DPR secretariat," he said.
The page in question provides a chronological description of the "cessie" agreement.
As part of the agreement, Bank Bali transferred Rp 546 billion to PT Era Giat Prima (EGP), a company controlled by Novanto, also a Golkar deputy treasurer.
The payment was described as a "commission" for EGP's assistance in recouping Rp 946 billion in interbank claims from closed banks currently under Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) receivership.
Akbar Tandjung, who is also the Golkar Party chairman, denied on Thursday allegations that his party was involved in the Bank Bali scandal. He conceded the party received some Rp 15 billion from businessman M. Manimaren, but contended the money was a loan and not a political contribution.
Akbar said the Golkar Party accepted the loan from Manimaren, also a Golkar treasurer, because the party needed funds for its activities and was awaiting donations from other sources.
He also denied using the disputed funds during the June 7 general election.
Meanwhile, a group of some 1,000 Bank Bali employees staged on Thursday a rally outside the Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) building opposing the London-based financial institution's plan to gain control of Bank Bali's management and acquire the bank's shares.
"The acquisition procedure was not natural," they said in a written statement.
"Bank Bali performance under SCB's management has worsened in the past two months, so we don't need them." (ylt/rei/05)