Setya, Djoko to return money to Bank Bali

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)