Tanri facing second corruption accusation
Tanri facing second corruption accusation
JAKARTA (JP): Already a suspect in the Bank Bali scandal, a
private organization on Monday accused former state minister of
investment and state enterprises development Tanri Abeng of
corruption in the privatization of Tanjung Priok Container
Terminal.
Institute of Indonesian Reform Advocacy chairman Eddy
Sumarsono said the group had found after a three-month
investigation that the privatization had caused the state at
least Rp 1 trillion (US$125 million) in financial losses.
Eddy claimed that during the May 1999 privatization process, a
Hong Kong company had $215 million. But only $190 million went to
the state's coffers.
"The remaining $25 million, was left in the terminal's bank
account, but its usage was unclear," he added.
One example, he claimed, was some Rp 60 billion for
consultation fees.
However just the consultations were, it is still unclear what
their purpose was, Eddy remarked.
He further charged that the privatization process violated at
least five laws and regulations.
"According to the law, all privatization should be done under
the authority of the minister of finance not the state minister
of investment and state enterprises development," Eddy said while
citing Law No.1/1995 and Government Regulation No.12/1998 as
among those which were violated.
Eddy said there was further suspicion that the sale of Tanjung
Priok terminal was underpriced, citing examples of several
smaller container terminals which could be sold at a much higher
prices.
He said the group's findings would be reported to the Attorney
General and the Ministry of Finance office in the near future.
"We are going to gather more proof about Tanri's involvement
to help the attorney general reveal the case," he added.
Separately, Tanri's lawyer Hotma Sitompoel challenged the
group to present their findings in court, adding that his client
would not respond to dubious allegations.
"Don't just shout it out in public, if they have proof then go
to court and we will answer them through legal procedures," Hotma
told The Jakarta Post. (dja)