Sjamsul repays Rp 10.1t debt to govt
Sjamsul repays Rp 10.1t debt to govt
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Abdul Khalik, Jakarta
The Attorney General's Office has halted its corruption
investigation into Sjamsul Nursalim after the businessman repaid
all Rp 10.1 trillion of Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance
(BLBI) funds his firms misused at the height of economic crisis
in 1999.
Attorney General M.A. Rachman said on Thursday that the
defunct Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) had issued
Sjamsul a letter certifying that he had repaid his debts to the
state.
"We have issued a letter halting the corruption investigation
into the businessman after he repaid his debts to the state,"
Rahman said.
Spokesman for the Attorney General's Office Kemas Yahya
Rachman said the letter was issued on July 23, 2004.
Sjamsul, who is living in neighboring country Singapore, had
been declared a suspect for allegedly misusing BLBI funds worth
Rp 10.1 trillion (US$1.12 billion).
According to Presidential Decree No. 8/2002, debtors who repay
their debts, either in cash or assets, shall be acquitted of all
criminal charges.
Aside from Sjamsul, seven other debtors have also secured
letters from IBRA that they have repaid their debts. They are
Denin Tong of the International Steel Bank, Husodo Angkow of Bank
Sewu International and owner of Bank Papan Sejahtera and Bank
Istimarat, Hasyim Djojohadikusumo of Bank Pelita, Hokiarto of
Hokindo Bank, The Ning King of Hutama Bank and Muhammad "Bob"
Hasan of Bank Umum National.
"We are examining all these debtors because according to the
law we have three options -- to continue the investigation, stop
the investigation or close the case," Rachman said.
Sjamsul was declared a suspect in a BLBI case in 2000 after
his Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia (BDNI) failed to repay BLBI
funds. In addition, the bank violated the legal lending limit by
channeling most of its loans to his group's subsidiaries.
He dodged the legal investigation by claiming he needed to
seek medical treatment abroad and has stayed in Singapore since
2001. Indonesian has no extradition treaty with Singapore.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Corruption Watch said that halting
the investigation against Sjamsul was a violation of Law No.
31/1999 which stipulates that asset recovery in corruption cases
does not annul the corruption charges.
The non-governmental organization also argued that the letter
would set a bad precedence for law enforcement in the future.
It also urged that the powerful Corruption Eradication
Commission (KPK) take over the case based on Article 8 of Law No.
30/2002 on KPK.
KPK is authorized to reopen an investigation into a corruption
case that state prosecutors or police close.