President issues permit to detain Setya Novanto
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid issued a permit on Tuesday for the detention of House of Representatives legislator and businessman Setya Novanto in connection with the Bank Bali scandal, the National Police chief of detectives said.
Maj. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Tuesday the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office indicated the dossier on Novanto was complete.
"Novanto and (businessman) Djoko S. Chandra will be handed over to the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office this afternoon (Tuesday)," Da'i said during a break in a ceremony at National Police Headquarters in South Jakarta.
National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi confirmed the National Police received both the President's permission to detain Novanto as well as the suspect's dossier on Tuesday.
"We will surrender the suspect to the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office immediately," Roesmanhadi said.
He also said the prosecutor's office was examining the dossiers of former Bank Bali directors Rudy Ramli, Rusli Surjadi, Henri Kurniawan and Firman Soetjahja. "They will soon be tried in court."
Da'i said National Police detectives planned to summon several high-level government officials allegedly connected to the scandal.
"The names of the officials we plan to call in for questioning as witnesses are clearly stated in the PricewaterhouseCoopers audit report.
"They include Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin, Tanri Abeng, A.A. Baramuli, Bambang Subianto and Golkar Party treasurer and businessman Marimutu Manimaren," Da'i said.
Demand continues to escalate for the disclosure of the complete PricewaterhouseCoopers audit report, which reportedly implicates at least one former minister and one political party in the scandal.
The scandal centers on the transfer of Rp 546 billion from Bank Bali to PT Era Giat Prima (EGP), a company controlled by Setya Novanto, who is also Golkar's deputy treasurer.
The payment was described as a "commission" for EGP's assistance in helping the bank recoup Rp 946 billion in interbank claims from closed banks currently under the supervision of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency. (ylt)