Travel ban against Sofyan lifted

Travel ban against Sofyan lifted

JAKARTA (JP): The foreign travel ban against Sofyan Wanandi
was officially lifted here on Thursday after the Attorney
General's Office received guarantees from his lawyers and the
businessman himself.

The decision to revoke the ban was issued after Sofyan
provided testimony at the Attorney General's Office on an alleged
corruption case earlier in the morning.

"I came here to clear charges laid against me... because I
want to see the supremacy of the law," he said after the meeting.

The revocation of the ban was stated in letter No. KEP-
222/O/DP.2/11/1999 signed by the deputy attorney general for
intelligence, M. Yusuf Kartanegara.

Sofyan, the head of the Gemala Group, has repeatedly denied
involvement in an alleged scandal which involved defrauding state
banks of up to US$16 million.

Many believe that the allegations raised against Sofyan were
politically motivated.

The president of Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) Widigdo Sukarman
has rejected allegations that Sofyan defrauded the state bank.

Sofyan returned on Oct. 22 to Indonesia following the election
of the new government.

He said he had been in the United States for approximately one
year for medical reasons. (mds)