Prosecutors seek life sentence for Adrian
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Prosecutors demanded bank fraud suspect Adrian Herling Waworuntu be sentenced to life for his alleged role in the embezzlement of Rp 1.7 trillion (US$182 million) of Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) funds in 2002.
Prosecutors also demanded Adrian be fined another Rp 1 billion (US$107.526) in financial penalties and another Rp 6.8 billion to replace a portion of the lost funds, chief prosecutor Syaiful Thahir said at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday.
The businessman was charged according to Law No. 20/2001 on corruption eradication and Law No. 25/2003 on money laundering.
Adrian was brought to court after being declared one of the key suspects in the BNI scandal, which centered in the alleged unlawful disbursement of some Rp 1.7 trillion worth of export credits by the bank's South Jakarta branch to two companies -- PT Petindo and Gramarindo Group.
Although Adrian was not in the management of any related companies, prosecutors said he was guilty in his capacity as the financial advisor for main suspect Maria Pauline Lumowa, a commissioner at Gramarindo, and had assisted the embezzlement.
Prosecutors also alleged Adrian had fled from justice. They said he and was guilty of causing huge losses to the state at a time when the banking sector had just started to recover from the devastating impact of the financial crisis.
After the BNI case surfaced in 2003, Adrian fled to Singapore to escape police investigations, although he later returned home after the Indonesian government put pressure on Singapore to expel him.
Responding to prosecutors, Adrian's lawyer Yan Djuanda Saputra said the indictment was engineered to make Adrian look guilty of breaking the law.
"In their indictments, the responsible ones are Ollah Abdullah Agam, Adrian Pandelaki Lumowa and Titi Priswanti. Prosecutors made it look like Adrian is also guilty although Adrian was only an investment consultant for Maria," he said.
Adrian said would fight the case vigorously.
"If I'm guilty, I'm prepared to be punished, but of course with a proportional punishment," he said.
Presiding judge Roki Pandjaitan adjourned the trial until March 3 when the defense delivers their response.
Adrian is the ninth of a total of 17 suspects in the BNI scandal to be tried. The first eight suspects have all been sentenced to prison. They were John Hamenda -- 20 years; Olla Abdullah Agam, Aprilla Widata and Adrian Pandelaki, all 15 years; Richard Kountul, 10 years, and Titik Pristiwati, eight years.
BNI Kebayoran Baru head Koesadiyuwono, meanwhile, received 15 years, while Edi Santoso, the branch's customer service head was sentenced to life.