Former bank employee jailed for embezzling

JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta District Court yesterday sentenced Mahdi Hadiwirya, a former employee of state-owned Exim Bank, to six years in jail for embezzling Rp 3.9 billion ($1.77 million).

Presiding judge Leo Hutagalung said in his verdict that Mahdi was found guilty of embezzling Rp 3.9 billion in 1993 from the bank's branches in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, and Kebon Melati, Central Jakarta. Mahdi was an officer in the bank's clearance department.

The judge also fined the defendant Rp 18 million and confiscated a car and motorcycle from him.

"The defendant violated Article 1 and 28 of 1971 Anti Corruption Law and Article 418 of the Criminal Code," Hutagalung said.

The article rules that a person proven guilty of violating the articles faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of Rp 30 million.

Prosecutor Maruli Siregar previously asked the judge to sentence Mahdi to eight years in jail, fine him Rp 18 million and confiscate his car and motorcycle.

Mahdi, according to the verdict, committed the crime in cooperation with Iwan Setiawan, also a former officer of the Exim Bank's clearance department, and Humala Hutabarat alias Opung, a notorious bank swindler.

Hutabarat was shot to death by a police officer in September last year for resisting arrest, while Iwan was sentenced to two years in prison by the Central Jakarta District Court.

The judge said that in October 1993 Mahdi met Iwan in his office and took him to a discotheque in the Puncak resort area in West Java to introduce him to Hutabarat.

Mahdi asked Iwan to give him a copy of the bank's August 1993 clearance reports to Bank Indonesia, the central bank. The copy was later given to Hutabarat.

Hutabarat succeeded in using the copy to embezzle Exim Bank of Rp 3.9 billion. It was not explained how Hutabarat actually swindled the bank.

Hutabarat later gave Rp 50 million to Mahdi and Rp 30 million to Iwan.

According to police, Hutabarat began his operation in 1981 at the branch of state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia in Siantar, North Sumatra, making off with Rp 845 million.

He stole Rp 445 million from the Medan branch of state-owned Bank Pembangunan Daerah a year later. He swindled another Rp 1.4 billion from the same bank in 1984. (29)