Rudy Ramli faces 15 years in jail for Bank Bali scandal

JAKARTA (JP): Against the backdrop of an angry public demanding all the suspects in the Bank Bali scandal be brought to justice, the trial of four former executives of the bank opened on Wednesday.

During the opening session of the case, the four suspects -- former Bank Bali president Rudy Ramli, his two former deputies Firman Soetjahya and Henri Kurniawan, and former bank director Rusli Suryadi -- were charged with violating Law No. 10/1998 on banking.

The prosecution alleged the four failed to register or report the transfer of a cessie contract totaling Rp 798,091,770,000 on Jan. 11, 1999, from Bank Bali to PT Era Giat Prima (EGP).

The company received Rp 546 billion of the Rp 798 billion for assisting Bank Bali in collecting interbank loans from closed banks.

Prosecutor Andi Rahman Basar, who read the 11-page indictment, said the law carried a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail and a fine of up to Rp 200 million.

The four were earlier named suspects in the case along with six others: EGP executives Setya Novanto and Djoko S. Tjandra; Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) deputy chairmen Pande Lubis and Farid Harianto; the head of accounting and payroll at Bank Indonesia, Desmi Demas; and Irwan Gunardwi, a Bank Bali legal assistant.

The investigating officers from the National Police were able to complete the dossiers on the four Bank Bali executives, but have so far failed to complete the dossiers on the remaining six suspects.

This has led to allegations that Rudy Ramli and the three other defendants are being made scapegoats in the scandal that is rumored to involve several high-ranking politicians and public figures.

Attorney General Marzuki Darusman told the House of Representatives joint commission investigating the scandal on Wednesday his office "has found indications that the number of suspects in the case will be more than four people".

Marzuki did not provide the names of the possible additional suspects, but hinted his office would question Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin and former Supreme Advisory Council chairman A.A. Baramuli over the scandal.

"There are a number of people who are likely to be named suspects, but we think it will be more useful if we summon those people as witnesses first," Marzuki said.

Corruption

The Bank Bali scandal took another twist recently when Marzuki's office announced a number of suspects in the case could also be charged with corruption.

The spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, Soehandojo, named on Tuesday Rudy Ramli, Setya Novanto, Pande Lubis and Djoko S. Tjandra as suspects in the corruption case.

The investigation of their roles in the scandal is still underway, he said.

Former state minister of the empowerment of state enterprises Tanri Abeng has gone to the Attorney General's Office to give his version of events in the scandal, as it relates to possible corruption charges.

The trial of the four former Bank Bali executives at the South Jakarta District Court was originally scheduled to open last Wednesday, but was delayed when Rudy Ramli was unable to appear in court due to illness.

The courtroom on Wednesday was packed with dozens of Bank Bali employees, who wore pins which read "a truth is a truth" as a sign of support for their former bosses.

As presiding judge Soedarto was about to begin the trial, a group of 10 activists from the Society for Law Supervision and Enforcement barged into the courtroom and demanded Soedarto allow them to read a statement.

The spokesman for the activists, Ardian, read the statement, which called on the judges and prosecutors to ensure the case was tried fairly.

"The prosecutors should also bring to justice the masterminds of this scandal, including A.A. Baramuli, Tanri Abeng and Bambang Subianto, since they are the real actors in the scandal," Ardian said, winning applause from the Bank Bali employees.

Bambang Subianto is the former minister of finance.

Defense lawyer LMM Samosir read out his clients' defense, saying the prosecutor cited an incorrect article in charging his clients.

"The 1998 article was enacted to address banking crimes, not mistakes committed by people in recording transactions," Samosir said. (asa/byg)