Pande admits ordering payment of Bank Bali funds

JAKARTA (JP): Former deputy chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) Pande Nasorahona Lubis testified on Wednesday that he had ordered Bank Indonesia to disburse Rp 904 billion (US$82 million) of IBRA's funds to Bank Bali.

Pande testified before the Central Jakarta District Court, which is hearing the case against Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin, that he was simply following orders from former finance minister Bambang Subianto.

"On June 1, 1999, the minister of finance asked my colleague Farid Harianto, who was acting chairman of IBRA, to proceed with Bank Bali's claim. He (the minister) phoned Farid three times. Farid then asked me begin the necessary steps with Bank Indonesia," he said.

Pande's statement, however, contradicts Bambang Subianto's testimony at an earlier trial in which he said he did not approve Bank Bali's claim because "it did not fulfill the requirements stipulated in the joint agreement between IBRA and Bank Indonesia's board of directors."

Prosecutors then asked the panel of judges to summon Bambang in the next hearing to cross-check his statements with Pande's. However, the judges, turned down the request to summon Bambang, saying the court would rather hear testimonies from the other witnesses.

When questioned by prosecutors, Pande admitted that he personally went to Bank Indonesia to present the letters ordering the central bank to disburse Rp 904 billion of IBRA's funds to Bank Bali.

Prosecutor Jan Merre and presiding judge Soebardi then asked Pande why he, as the second man at IBRA, personally delivered the letters to Bank Indonesia when he could have asked a courier to it.

Pande said he delivered the letters himself because he was told by Farid Harianto to do so.

In addition, Pande said he wanted to ensure Bank Bali's claim would be attended to immediately as "the International Monetary Fund had insisted in the letter of intent that any liabilities of defunct banks to a third party must be settled by the government by the end of May, 1999."

The Bank Bali corruption scandal centers on the repayment of loans extended by Bank Bali to three defunct private banks -- Bank BDNI, Bank Tiara and Bank Umum National. The government took over the third party liabilities of closed banks at that time.

Pande was a suspect in the Bank Bali corruption case, but was acquitted by the South Jakarta District Court in November.

Later, however, five IBRA executives testifying at Sjahril's trial implicated Pande as one of the masterminds in the corruption scandal as Pande had insisted on processing the claims even though Bank Indonesia had refused to disburse the money to Bank Bali.

Sjahril is being tried for allegedly ordering one of his directors, Erman Munzir, sometime between February 1999 and June 1999, to disburse the money to Bank Bali.

Judge Soebardi adjourned the trial until July 4 to hear testimonies from other witnesses. (02)