Sjahril named bank scandal suspect
JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin was named a suspect on Monday in the Bank Bali scandal for allegedly violating the central bank's prudential principle in its policy to reimburse interbank loans guaranteed by the government.
But representatives for Sjahril quickly attacked the allegations, accusing the government of fabricating charges to remove the central bank governor.
During a late night media briefing, BI's deputy director for legal affairs Amir Sjarifuddin claimed that Sjahril had been given an ultimatum to resign and be freed of any charges or risk being named a suspect and face the legal consequences.
"The governor confided (in us) that he had several times been given a choice, both directly by the President and the attorney general or other parties, to either resign and be appointed an ambassador or be named a suspect," Amir told journalists.
The news conference was not attended by Sjahril, who was said to be tired. BI Deputy Governor Achjar Ilyas attended the conference.
Amir charged that these "suggestions" by the President and other parties were a direct violation of Law No. 23/1999 against outside intervention in the central bank.
"According to our analysis, from the beginning there has been an effort to make it appear that the BI governor violated the law by connecting him to Bank Bali, Texmaco and other cases," he added.
"This is more of a political move to remove the governor rather than reveal the cases, because up to now there is no evidence that he violated the law... The governor refuses to resign," Amir said.
Amir also reminded the Attorney General's Office that it was more important to focus on economic recovery, saying that this latest development could destabilize the rupiah.
Amir also questioned the remarks by prosecutors when announcing Sjahril's status, that among the four charges against him was corruption.
Sjahril's status as a suspect was not unexpected as prosecutors had previously pointed to glaring inconsistencies in his testimony with those of other witnesses over whether or not he attended a Feb. 11 meeting at a Jakarta hotel which allegedly led to the reimbursement of funds from BI to Bank Bali for defaulted loans.
The scandal revolves around BI's reimbursement of Rp 904 billion in defaulted loans to other banks. Some Rp 546 billion of the money was then paid to PT Era Giat Prima for helping Bank Bali recoup the money.
There is suspicion that a large portion of the money went to help bankroll then president B.J. Habibie's renomination bid.
Attorney General's Office spokesman Yushar Yahya on Monday said Sjahril had been named a suspect because he accelerated the reimbursement of the money to Bank Bali, the clearance of which some believe was conducted through questionable negotiations between state officials and businessmen.
No travel ban has been imposed on Sjahril.
After being questioned by prosecutors for almost five hours, Sjahril left the Attorney General's Office compound at around 8:40 p.m., accompanied by his aides. He appeared to avoid journalists.
President Abdurrahman Wahid earlier said that all state officials implicated in cases under investigation should resign to facilitate the legal process.
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung has also suggested that it would be best to suspend the BI governor so a thorough investigation could be conducted. (bby)