Surabaya court frees another tax evasion suspect
JAKARTA (JP): The Surabaya District Court has acquitted another businessman accused of tax evasion, thus triggering renewed charges of impropriety.
The panel of judges led by Sarwono decided on Saturday to acquit Delip Khumar Gobindram Vasandani due to a lack of incriminating evidence.
Vasandani, an Indonesian citizen of Indian origin, was accused of forging tax invoices to receive restitution from the value added tax, causing the state to lose more than Rp 943 million (US$450,500).
Last week the same court acquitted two other businessmen, Helmy Nazar Machfudz of PT Inraco Artajaya and Sugiarto of CV Merkas Sari, of similar charges.
Helmy and Sugiarto were charged with manipulating tax refunds that caused the government to lose over Rp 5.1 billion ($2.3 million).
The court's verdict to acquit the two businessmen sparked controversy, with no less than President Soeharto expressing his concern over the decision. The President, according to Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad, closely monitored the court proceedings and hoped that other such trials would be more fair.
Minister of Justice Oetoyo Usman last week announced that the presiding judges presiding over the two cases would be investigated because of allegations that they accepted bribes from the two defendants.
East Java chief prosecutor Martoyo had alleged that Judge Sarwono accepted a bribe from defendant Vasandani in the form of a brand-new Toyota Corona sedan worth Rp 90 million ($43,300). Sarwono has strongly denied the allegations.
It was also Martoyo who first suggested both Helmy and Sugiarto had also bought their acquittals by bribing the judges presiding over their trials.
But Helmy's lawyer, Wijono Soebagio, responding to the claim, said that the prosecutors in the trial had accepted Rp 300 million ($144,000) from his client. Wijono told the court that he recorded the conversation between his client and the prosecutors in which the slush money was negotiated.
Minister Oetoyo has formed a special team to investigate the allegations and promised to announce the results of the investigation later this week.
He said nine judges from Surabaya District Court are now being watched closely by the team.
They are Sri Hardiyati, Sudarminto, Suwardi, Armen Lubis, Mansur Idris, Sowito, Nadi Rekso Dikromo, Kalalaoo and Sarwono.
Before the verdict to acquit Vasandani was announced, Sarjono, the chief prosecutor in the trial, had demanded that the defendant be sentenced to five years in prison, fined Rp 20 million and forced to pay Rp 1 billion ($490,000) to the state as restitution.
However, the panel of judges was adamant that Vasandani had done nothing wrong, saying that the businessman had properly fulfilled the tax restitution legalized by the authorities.
Comments
Meanwhile, a number of tax officials commenting on the acquittal said the decision could have not come at a worse time because the government has been waging a stiff campaign against tax evaders.
Tax receipts have achieved greater importance for the government as a means of offsetting the dwindling revenue collected from oil.
Sarwono refused to discuss his decision to acquit Vasandani with reporters. "My comment was already made in the verdict," he said curtly as he rushed to his waiting car, Republika daily reported.
As soon as the presiding judge finished reading his verdict, an elated Vasandani stood and bowed his head in an expression of respect to the panel of judges. He then shook hands with all members of the panel.
"I'm very delighted and satisfied with the presiding judge's decision. The chief prosecutor should have been suspended," he told a battery of reporters who surrounded him. (bas)