Rudy Ramli faces 15 years in jail for Bank Bali scandal

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)