Former BI directors put under house arrest

Former BI directors put under house arrest

JAKARTA (JP): Two suspects in the misuse of central bank
liquidity support funds have left their cells after the Attorney
General's Office decided to place them under house arrest, an
official said on Monday.

Attorney General's Office spokesman Muljohardjo said that
former Bank Indonesia directors Heru Supraptomo and Hendri
Budiyanto were released on Friday at 8 p.m. because prosecutors
had finished investigating the allegations against them

Other suspects in the case, Kaharudin Ongko, former vice
president of Bank Umum Nasional, Samadikun Hartono, a former
commissioner of Bank Modern, and David Nusa Wijaya, a former
director of Bank Umum Sertivia had earlier also been released.

They were allegedly involved in the misuse of some Rp 138.4
trillion of the liquidity support (BLBI) funds extended to 48
ailing banks during the economic crisis between 1997 and 1999.

The Attorney General's Office is under fire for its poor
performance in handling the liquidity support funds scandal.

So far, the office has only been able to send one former
banker to court.

Hendrawan Haryono, the former loans director of Bank Aspac, is
facing a possible five-year jail term for allegedly misusing Rp
538 billion in state funds channeled to his bank.

Muljohardjo also denied reports that President Abdurrahman
Wahid had assigned his office, under new Attorney General
Baharuddin Lopa, the task of investigating corruption allegations
against businessman Taufik Kiemas, who is the husband of Vice
President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"This office is independent. Besides, we have not received any
reports about Taufik Kiemas," he was quoted by detik.com as
saying.

The President will install Lopa, a former Minister of Justice,
as the new Attorney General replacing Marzuki Darusman on
Tuesday.