Legal process of three tycoons delayed
Legal process of three tycoons delayed
SEOUL (JP): In a disclosure that might trigger another
controversy back home, President Abdurrahman Wahid admitted here
on Thursday he had ordered the Attorney General's Office to delay
the prosecution of three of the country's most prominent
businessmen and largest debtors.
Speaking before members of the Indonesian community in South
Korea, Abdurrahman said he had asked prosecutors to delay legal
proceedings against Texmaco Group chairman Marimutu Sinivasan,
Barito Pacific Group chairman Prajogo Pangestu and the chairman
of the Gadjah Tunggal Group, Syamsul Nursalim.
"This (move) is necessary because the business groups are
major exporters who can contribute greatly to the economic
recovery process," noted Abdurrahman, more frequently referred to
by his nickname Gus Dur.
Abdurrahman arrived here on Wednesday evening to attend the
third Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on Friday and Saturday.
Gus Dur was accompanied at the gathering by First Lady S.
Nuriyah, Minister of Trade and Industry Luhut Pandjaitan and
Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea Abdul Gani.
He was quick to add, however, that the three conglomerates
would "eventually have to face the law and be held accountable
for causing huge financial losses to the state".
Gus Dur was responding to a comment by a participant at the
gathering that law enforcement in Indonesia was slow to move and
that the government seemed "to stall" the prosecution of certain
individuals.
The three businessmen head conglomerates that owe billions of
dollars in bad debts to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency
(IBRA), a unit of the finance ministry.
Sinivasan is the owner of the giant textile and engineering
Texmaco Group, which owes IBRA more than Rp 19 trillion (US$2.1
billion). The loans initially came from state banks, but were
transferred to IBRA after they turned sour following the economic
crisis.
The government recently reached a debt restructuring agreement
with Texmaco, an agreement which was roundly criticized as being
no more than a government bailout of the group.
A former Cabinet member in the Abdurrahman administration
earlier accused Sinivasan of corruption in connection with the
loans Texmaco received from state Bank BNI, but the Attorney
General's Office dropped the case in May due to a lack of
evidence.
Prajogo is the owner of the Barito Group, whose main focus is
the timber industry. The group also owes trillions of rupiah to
IBRA.
Syamsul Nursalim is the owner of the Gadjah Tunggal Group,
which is the owner of the now defunct Bank BDNI and a large
shrimp farm in Lampung, southern Sumatra.
Syamsul must repay the large amount of money injected by the
government to bailout Bank BDNI which was eventually closed down.
IBRA and Sjamsul reached an agreement last year by which the
businessman would transfer assets to the agency to repay the debt
to the government. However, this agreement has been called into
question recently after it was revealed the value of the pledged
assets is far below the amount of the debt.
There also have been increasing calls on the government to
take legal action against Syamsul and other former bank owners
who allegedly violated the legal lending limit ruling.
Commenting on the lack of success in major corruption
investigations, the President reiterated that "hard evidence is
hard to come by".
"We are not stalling anything. The problem is that it is very
difficult for the state to find evidence, and finding evidence
will take some time.
"On the desk of Attorney General (Marzuki Darusman) there are
now stacks of cases that can't be legally proven ... so we have
to be patient here," Abdurrahman said. (bby)
SEOUL (JP): In a disclosure that might trigger another
controversy back home, President Abdurrahman Wahid admitted here
on Thursday he had ordered the Attorney General's Office to delay
the prosecution of three of the country's most prominent
businessmen and largest debtors.
Speaking before members of the Indonesian community in South
Korea, Abdurrahman said he had asked prosecutors to delay legal
proceedings against Texmaco Group chairman Marimutu Sinivasan,
Barito Pacific Group chairman Prajogo Pangestu and the chairman
of the Gadjah Tunggal Group, Syamsul Nursalim.
"This (move) is necessary because the business groups are
major exporters who can contribute greatly to the economic
recovery process," noted Abdurrahman, more frequently referred to
by his nickname Gus Dur.
Abdurrahman arrived here on Wednesday evening to attend the
third Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on Friday and Saturday.
Gus Dur was accompanied at the gathering by First Lady S.
Nuriyah, Minister of Trade and Industry Luhut Pandjaitan and
Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea Abdul Gani.
He was quick to add, however, that the three conglomerates
would "eventually have to face the law and be held accountable
for causing huge financial losses to the state".
Gus Dur was responding to a comment by a participant at the
gathering that law enforcement in Indonesia was slow to move and
that the government seemed "to stall" the prosecution of certain
individuals.
The three businessmen head conglomerates that owe billions of
dollars in bad debts to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency
(IBRA), a unit of the finance ministry.
Sinivasan is the owner of the giant textile and engineering
Texmaco Group, which owes IBRA more than Rp 19 trillion (US$2.1
billion). The loans initially came from state banks, but were
transferred to IBRA after they turned sour following the economic
crisis.
The government recently reached a debt restructuring agreement
with Texmaco, an agreement which was roundly criticized as being
no more than a government bailout of the group.
A former Cabinet member in the Abdurrahman administration
earlier accused Sinivasan of corruption in connection with the
loans Texmaco received from state Bank BNI, but the Attorney
General's Office dropped the case in May due to a lack of
evidence.
Prajogo is the owner of the Barito Group, whose main focus is
the timber industry. The group also owes trillions of rupiah to
IBRA.
Syamsul Nursalim is the owner of the Gadjah Tunggal Group,
which is the owner of the now defunct Bank BDNI and a large
shrimp farm in Lampung, southern Sumatra.
Syamsul must repay the large amount of money injected by the
government to bailout Bank BDNI which was eventually closed down.
IBRA and Sjamsul reached an agreement last year by which the
businessman would transfer assets to the agency to repay the debt
to the government. However, this agreement has been called into
question recently after it was revealed the value of the pledged
assets is far below the amount of the debt.
There also have been increasing calls on the government to
take legal action against Syamsul and other former bank owners
who allegedly violated the legal lending limit ruling.
Commenting on the lack of success in major corruption
investigations, the President reiterated that "hard evidence is
hard to come by".
"We are not stalling anything. The problem is that it is very
difficult for the state to find evidence, and finding evidence
will take some time.
"On the desk of Attorney General (Marzuki Darusman) there are
now stacks of cases that can't be legally proven ... so we have
to be patient here," Abdurrahman said. (bby)