Money laundering reports untrue: Rahardi

Money laundering reports untrue: Rahardi

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Industry and Trade Rahardi Ramelan
said on Tuesday that reports of a money laundering scandal
involving his wife were engineered.

Rahardi, who is also chairman of the State Logistics Agency
(Bulog), said it was clear that certain people were trying to
discredit his name by spreading the untrue allegation.

"Some parties are not happy with some of my industry and trade
policies. So they want to ruin my reputation," he said.

He said he presumed the rumor was sparked by people who were
unhappy with his policy to impose a zero percent import duty on
sugar.

Harian Ekonomi Neraca daily and Tempo newsweekly magazine
reported last week that Rahardi's wife Ibu Tumbu Astiani was
rumored to have been apprehended by New York airport authorities
on June 17 for bringing in US$600,000 in bank notes in to the
country.

The sum was far above the maximum limit of $10,000 allowed by
the U.S government to be brought in by foreign tourists visiting
the country.

But the daily later corrected its story, saying it turned out
to be completely inaccurate, while the magazine's cover story on
the issue immediately included firm statements from Indonesian
diplomats overseas and from Rahardi himself that categorically
denied the rumors.

The reports said that Ibu Tumbu Ramelan was rumored to have
been apprehended when she failed to declare the money, leading to
concerns the amount was to be laundered.

Rahardi said his wife was in Jakarta that day, opening a home
industry exhibition at the Sahid Jaya Hotel.

"Some of you who covered the opening ceremony of the
exhibition saw her there. So it was impossible she was caught in
New York that day."

Rahardi said he had no plans to sue the Neraca daily and Tempo
magazine for publishing the articles concerning the money
laundering allegations.

But he said he hoped the editors of the two publications would
be "mature enough" to apologize to him, as they had damaged his
family reputation.

"What can I say, the damage (caused by the reports) is already
there. I am just hoping that they (the editors) still have ethics
to send their apologies for destroying my name and my family's
with their false, baseless reports."

Rahardi said reports about his wife might be engineered by
people who did not agree with his policy to liberalize sugar
imports.

Despite mounting criticism that the policy has hurt sugarcane
farmers, he said he would stand by his decision not to impose
import duty on imported sugar, because it would benefit consumers
and not inflict losses on farmers.

Sugar farmers and the local sugar industry have been pushed to
the brink of bankruptcy by a flood of cheap imported sugar which
has hit the local market.

Lower international prices stemming from a sharp decline in
demand and a stronger rupiah have made importing sugar more
attractive than procuring it domestically.

According to one trader, the price of local sugar is currently
between Rp 2,200 and Rp 2,500 per kilogram, Rp 1,800 higher than
the price of the same quantity of imported sugar.

The government has obliged all sugar mills in Java to procure
locally produced sugar at Rp 2,500 (30 U.S. cents) a kilogram to
protect farmers from the falling price of sugar on the local
market.

The government said it would pay the difference between the
price of cheaper imported sugar and sugar grown in Indonesia.

The plan has not run smoothly, because the money -- amounting
to Rp 496 billion -- has not yet been disbursed to sugar mills.
(gis)