MA convicts former bank commissioner of graft

MA convicts former bank commissioner of graft

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Supreme Court offered a ray of hope for the country's legal
battle against Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) abusers as
it overturned a controversial verdict issued by a lower court
which acquitted the former president commissioner of the now-
defunct Bank Modern, Samadikun Hartono, of graft charges.

The court this month sentenced Samadikun to four years in jail
and required him to pay Rp 169 billion (US$20.8 million) in
compensation to the state.

Although the court did not order Samadikun to be jailed
immediately, Supreme Court Justice Toton Soeprapto said on Friday
that the verdict issued by the Supreme Court could be executed
immediately despite Samadikun's move to challenge it.

According to the verdict, Samadikun was responsible for the
misuse of Rp 11.9 billion in BLBI funds disbursed to his Bank
Modern.

"The bank did not use the funds to meet the needs of worried
customers as they were supposed to do," said Toton, who led the
panel of judges handling Samadikun's case.

The government provided the BLBI funds from 1998 to 2000 to
assist 48 commercial banks in dealing with massive bank runs
during the monetary crisis. However, some Rp 137 trillion ($ 167
billion) of the funds were misused for other purposes.

The Supreme Court rejected the verdict by the Central Jakarta
District Court that said Samadikun was not responsible for the
violation because the funds were disbursed by the bank's board of
directors.

"As a commissioner, the defendant was responsible for the
bank's fund disbursement," Toton added.

The Central Jakarta District Court acquitted Samadikun in
August last year despite prosecutors' recommendation to sentence
him to one year in jail.

Prosecutors earlier indicted Samadikun for allegedly misusing
Rp 1.7 trillion in BLBI funds, but during the hearing, which
started in August 2001, the bank was said to have misused only Rp
169 billion, not Rp 1.7 trillion as originally alleged. The
figure later was changed to just Rp 11.9 billion.

Bank Modern was also accused of disbursing the money in
several installments to several companies within the Modern
Group, which was owned by Samadikun.

The Attorney General's Office has sent more than a dozen cases
to court with the hope that BLBI abusers would be punished and
the state could retrieve the funds. However, the prosecution has
so far failed to reach the goal.

Some of the defendants have been sentenced, but remain free
pending appeal, while others were acquitted entirely.
Worse, there has been no sign that the state funds that were
embezzled would be returned.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan has promised to look
into the BLBI cases following public outcry over the issue, which
accuses the justice system of failure to carry out its duties
honestly.