Surabaya court

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)