Land exchange deal 'caused Bulog losses'

Land exchange deal 'caused Bulog losses'

JAKARTA (JP): An official from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK)
told the South Jakarta District Court on Friday that State
Logistics Agency (Bulog) suffered substantial losses in its land
exchange deal with wholesale firm PT Goro Batara Sakti.

M. Manalu, BPK's expert auditor, said the losses, found when
he audited Bulog in the period between October 1997 and November
1997 and between March and April last year, were estimated at Rp
65 billion.

"The losses were incurred because the land exchange deal
violated existing procedures," Manalu said.

Under the land deal, signed in August 1995, Bulog would
exchange its 50-hectare warehouse complex in Kelapa Gading for a
71-hectare plot in Marunda to be provided by Goro.

He said that out of the Rp 65 billion losses, Rp 13 billion
was incurred from Goro's demolition of Bulog's 11 warehouses in
Kelapa Gading.

The remaining Rp 52 billion (in losses) was caused by the fact
that it was Bulog itself, which was forced to buy the land in
Marunda as a substitute for the land in Kelapa Gading, he said.

Part of the substitute land was purchased by Bulog at Rp 32
billion, while Goro purchased the remainder with a Rp 20 billion
loan from Bank Bukopin. The loan was guaranteed by Bulog with a
Rp 23 billion deposit, he said.

According to the Ministry of Finance's decree on land
exchanges, the substitute land should have been wholly provided
by Goro, Manalu said.

"Although Goro was appointed by (former) president Soeharto,
the land exchange deal should have abided by the decree."

Manalu gave his testimony in court in his capacity as an
expert witness in the trial of Goro's former president Ricardo
Gelael.

Ricardo was indicted along with Goro's former chief
commissioner Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra and Bulog's former
chief Beddu Amang for corruption related to the land deal. The
deal allegedly caused the state losses amounting to Rp 95
billion.

Beddu's name, however, was dropped from the indictment,
because the prosecutors were unable to obtain President B.J.
Habibie's permission to prosecute Beddu who is still a member of
the People's Consultative Assembly. The President must give his
approval before cases against Assembly members can be pursued.

Manalu's testimony was markedly different from testimony
delivered in earlier court sessions by Beddu, who insisted that
Bulog suffered no losses.

Tommy, who is also Soeharto's youngest son, also testified in
court on Friday, admitting that the land exchange was his idea.

"I asked Ricardo to join Goro because Ricardo has a lot of
experience in the retail business," Tommy said.

He said he developed an interest in the deal after learning
that Bulog planned to open a larger warehouse complex than the
Kelapa Gading complex.

At the trial, Tommy frequently answered questions in the
negative, claiming he was unaware of details and arguing he was
just a president commissioner of the firm.

"All the details were conducted by Goro's board of directors,"
he said, adding that Goro was 80 percent owned by his company PT
Humpuss with the remainder owned by Ricardo. (jun)