Sjahril denies involvement in Bank Bali scandal

Sjahril denies involvement in Bank Bali scandal

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin denied
on Monday that he attended a Feb. 11, 1999 meeting which
discussed measures to accelerate Bank Bali's loan disbursement
from the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).

Sjahril, who testified at the trial of Djoko S. Tjandra, the
main defendant in the high profile Bank Bali scandal, said he
learned of the meeting, which was also attended by some senior
government officials, only after the media published details
about it.

"I didn't know about the Feb. 11, 1999 meeting and I was not
present at it either," he told a hearing at the South Jakarta
District Court, presided over by judge Soedarto.

Sjahril also denied having any knowledge about the defendant.

"No, I do not know Djoko S. Tjandra," he said.

Some 30 people attended the five-hour hearing, which began at
10 a.m., including Djoko's lawyers O.C. Kaligis and Y.B.
Purwaning, and prosecutor Ridwan Moekiat.

Sjahril said the central bank did not have the authority to
disburse the loan.

"It's the responsibility of IBRA. The central bank only made a
recommendation to IBRA about whether it was legally possible to
disburse the loan," he said.

Sjahril's testimony was contradictory to the prosecutor's
indictment against the defendant, which stipulated that Sjahril
attended a meeting at Hotel Mulia in Central Jakarta on Feb. 11
last year.

The meeting was also attended by then state minister of
investment and state enterprises development Tanri Abeng, IBRA's
deputy chairman Pande Lubis, then Supreme Advisory Council
chairman A.A. Baramuli, an executive of PT Era Giat Prima (PT
EGP), Setya Novanto, a Bank Bali executive, Firman Soetjahja, and
Djoko S. Tjandra, who is also an executive of PT EGP.

The indictment said the meeting was held after the central
bank rejected the Bank Bali request to allow IBRA to disburse the
loan.

The Feb. 11 meeting recommended that Bank Bali write a letter
to persuade IBRA's chairman to assist the bank to recover its
interbank loans which amounted to Rp 904 billion (US$108.9
million).

Three private banks -- Bank Tiara, Bank BDNI and Bank Umum
Nasional -- borrowed a total of Rp 904 billion from Bank Bali,
but they were unable to repay the loans until they were closed
down by the central bank due to their poor financial record in
late 1998.

Bank Bali's then president director Rudi Ramli made a cessie
agreement with PT EGP to assist the bank in recouping the loan in
January last year.

Monday's hearing also heard testimonies from Rudy Ramli and
two IBRA officials, Toto Suparto and Indra Sunyoto.

The hearing was adjourned until Thursday to again hear
testimony from Rudy. (asa)