Sjahril's detention extended

JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office extended on Monday the arrest of central bank governor Sjahril Sabirin to another 40 days, pending the completion of the investigation into his involvement in the Bank Bali scandal.

The extension takes effect on July 11, one day after Sjahril's first 20-day arrest ends.

Sjahril is suspected of involvement in the Bank Bali scandal in which Rp 904 billion was reimbursed by the government for defaulted loans, but less than half the money was received by Bank Bali.

His lawyers condemned the extension, saying it is baseless and has no urgency.

"We are considering taking legal action against the Attorney General's Office, either in the form of protest or by filing a pretrial," lawyer Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara told reporters after visiting Sjahril.

Another lawyer, Mohammad Assegaf, said that in the notification, Sjahril was charged with inflicting state losses by reimbursing the loans using Bank Indonesia's liquidity loan without waiting for government verification.

Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said later in the day that Sjahril is facing other charges.

"We will treat them separately. The ongoing process of investigation into Sjahril could develop further and could be linked to other cases and other names ... we'll see," he told journalists at his office, declining to elaborate further.

Many people believe the money was used largely by then ruling Golkar party to bankroll then president B.J. Habibie's campaign for election.

Meanwhile, investigation into former president Soeharto's alleged involvement in massive corruption, is progressing with testimony recorded from more than 100 witnesses and preparation of the dossier nearing 50 percent completion.

Director of Investigation Ris Sihombing said Soeharto will face more questioning some time this week, after a three-week pause following Soeharto's brain scan last month. (bby)