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)