Former BI governor to be prosecuted

JAKARTA: A former governor of the central bank will be prosecuted soon in connection with the alleged misuse of Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds from 1997 through 1999, an official said.

Attorney General's Office spokesman Antasari Azhar announced on Friday that the office had completed the case files of J. Soedradjad Djiwandono and would hand over them to the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office sometime next month.

He said Soedradjad was responsible for the disbursement of Rp 9 trillion of BLBI funds to ineligible private banks that obtained the bailout money when it was being doled out from 1997 through 1999.

Recently three former BI officials have been convicted and sentenced to between two and a half and three years in prison for the same case. They remain free pending appeal.

According to the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), the government lost Rp 144.5 billion as some 95 percent of the BLBI funds were misused by various bank owners. -- JP