Tansil gets `only' 17 years in jail
Tansil gets `only' 17 years in jail
JAKARTA (JP): Businessman Eddy Tansil, the man at the center
of the Rp 1.3 trillion (US$620 million) loan scandal at the
state-owned Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo), was sentenced
to 17 years in prison by a Jakarta court yesterday.
The court also ordered Tansil, the 40-year-old owner of the
Golden Key Group, to pay the government Rp 500 billion ($238
million) in restitution and fined him an additional Rp 30
million.
"We find Eddy Tansil guilty of having caused a great financial
loss to the state," said chief of the Central Jakarta District
Court Soetrisno who presided over the trial. "We hereby sentence
you (Tansil) to 17 years imprisonment."
The court's public gallery was silent for a while, but when
the verdict sank in, pandemonium broke out as people expressed
surprise and disappointment at the light term.
The public prosecutors too were taken aback by the court's
verdict which was far short of the life imprisonment they had
been seeking. Most observers had also expected that the court
would at the very least give 20 years.
The prosecutors, anxious to retrieve as much money as possible
for the government, had also asked the court to order Tansil to
pay Rp 800 billion.
"It is likely that we will appeal," Lukman Bachmid, the chief
prosecutor told reporters after the hearing.
Lukman tried to hide his disappointment. "It is common in any
trial that the verdict does not meet our expectations."
The court yesterday ordered the government to return some of
the assets it had confiscated from Tansil, but allowed it to keep
the goods believed to have been purchased with money swindled
from Bapindo. They include various properties and also bank
deposits.
National security
Judge Soetrisno rejected the prosecution's suggestion that
Tansil's behavior had gone as far as to threaten national
security. His action, however, caused a loss to the government
sufficient to warrant indictment under the 1971 anti-corruption
law.
Tansil became the second person to be indicted in connection
with the huge loan scam at Bapindo. The first was Maman Suparman,
formerly deputy manager of Bapindo's Jakarta branch, who handled
Tansil's loan accounts with the bank. Maman was given a nine-year
prison term.
Four former Bapindo directors who were in charge of the bank
between 1989 and 1993 when the scandal took place, have also been
charged. They are Subekti Ismaun, Towil Heryoto, Sjahrizal and
Bambang Kuntjoro.
The court yesterday said that Tansil was guilty of embezzling
$448 million from the government-owned bank.
Tansil had secured a total of $477 million in loans from
Bapindo to finance the construction of a huge petrochemical
project in Cilegon, West Java. He owed this to Sudomo, then a
powerful cabinet minister, who gave him a letter of reference to
support his loan applications.
Tansil managed to cash in on nearly $448 million of the loans
by converting the terms of his letters of credit from usance to
red clause ones. He also managed to name his own company in Hong
Kong as the beneficiary in place of the original foreign
suppliers. He did all this with the help of Bapindo insiders.
The conversion from usance to red clause is a rare practice
and carries high risk.
"You are found in contempt of the banking regulation," Judge
Soetrisno told the defendant. "Your action has tarnished the
image of Indonesia's banking system."
Soetrisno also said Tansil had misused the reference letter he
obtained from Sudomo, currently the chairman of the Supreme
Advisory Council.
Tansil's chief defense counselor, Gani Djemat, told reporters
after the hearing that his team will discuss the verdict with his
client before deciding whether or not to appeal.
Yesterday Gani was accompanied by Humphrey R. Djemat, his son,
Soetarno Soedja, FXL Soewadi and Sintok Singh. (02)