Setya, Djoko to return money to Bank Bali

JAKARTA (JP): Businessmen Setya Novanto and Djoko Chandra will return every penny of the Rp 546 billion (nearly $80 million at current rate) they received from Bank Bali in a controversial transaction as a "gesture of good faith" on Monday, a senior Golkar Party leader said on Saturday.

A.A. Baramuli, a party advisor and chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council, said the two men had been in touch with him, during which the plan to return the money was discussed.

"They said they meant no harm to the government. So they are returning the money to prove that they have no evil intentions," Baramuli told reporters after receiving the Mahaputra meritorious services star from President B.J. Habibie at the State Palace.

Setya and Djoko control PT Era Giat Prima (EGP), the company which collected Rp 546 billion in commission for securing the reimbursement of Rp 904 billion in interbank loans from the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) to Bank Bali in June.

Baramuli said both men insisted that the transaction between two essentially private institutions was legitimate.

The decision to return the money was made voluntarily because of the pressure they had been put under these past two weeks, he said, adding that both men were deeply depressed.

The transaction, disclosed only in late July, raised a political storm because Bank Bali was about to go under the management of IBRA and became the target of government-mandated rescue requiring a massive financial injection.

The bank was taken over by IBRA last month but control has since been handed over to Britain's Standard Chartered Bank which plans to take over management of Bank Bali.

Golkar has been implicated in the scandal with allegations that some of the money went into the ruling party's coffers, or those of a covert team headed by Baramuli to secure the election of President B.J. Habibie in November. Setya is also a deputy treasurer for Golkar's central executive board and is also believed to be part of the covert team.

The executive board has denied any knowledge of Setya's business, let alone the money. Some Golkar leaders, including those in the House of Representatives, have been campaigning to unearth the scandal and have threatened a no-confidence vote in the House in the absence of a satisfactory explanation.

Baramuli has denied the allegation of his role in the scandal and of receiving money from the two businessmen, and accused politicians of using the affair for their "evil intentions".

He specifically named Kwik Kian Gie of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Golkar deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman of organizing a concerted campaign against him and possibly Habibie.

"Why did Kwik and Marzuki hold a meeting? That is improper. If I interfered in the internal affairs of PDI Perjuangan, it would be considered improper.

"Those who engineered this case are acting improperly and unethically. They are creating things out of the blue. If they want to fight, then fight like real men," he said.

Marzuki has publicly opposed Golkar's nomination of Habibie as president in the November election.

The scandal has also prompted calls for the firing, or resignation, of top economics officials in Habibie's Cabinet.

Minister/State Secretary Muladi told reporters on Saturday that as far as he knew, not a single official had tendered his resignation.

Muladi said the matter was now under investigation by Bank Indonesia (the central bank) involving independent foreign auditors.

"Let's just wait for the result and their announcement," he said. (prb/emb)