Wrong verdict

Wrong verdict

When is a thief not a thief? When he returns the loot after
being caught. That seems to be the message Judge Soedarto of the
South Jakarta District Court sent by clearing businessman Djoko
Tjandra of all criminal charges in the high-profile Bank Bali
scandal on Monday.

The very act of offering to return the Rp 546 billion (US$64.2
million) Djoko Tjandra's PT Era Giat Prima (EGP) secured from the
government after his scheme became public in June last year is
the clearest admission that neither he nor any of his accomplices
were entitled to that money in the first place. That gesture
should have been sufficient grounds for the court to hand down a
guilty verdict to Djoko, the prime suspect in the scandal. All it
needed was to establish that the means by which EGP secured the
money, a cessie agreement signed with Bank Bali, was illegal.

EGP entered into that agreement early in 1999, supposedly to
help secure the return of Rp 904 billion the government owed to
Bank Bali. Without so much as even lifting a finger except with
penning the deal, Djoko Tjandra collected a cool Rp 546 billion
in commissions when that money was disbursed to Bank Bali. There
was a political twist to this story which made it a high-profile
case. Subsequent independent investigations established some of
this money was later disbursed to various people closely
connected to the Golkar Party.

Not only did the court fail to find Djoko Tjandra guilty, it
also effectively ruled that the money, which has since been put
in an escrow account pending a court ruling, belongs to Djoko.
Judge Soedarto said the government stood a better chance of
recuperating the money (control over Bank Bali has since fallen
into the government hands) by pursuing a civil case.

The Bank Bali scandal became a politically charged affair
because of allegations of a political conspiracy involving senior
members of the Golkar Party, particularly those who were part of
a small team campaigning for the reelection of then president
B.J. Habibie. The very disclosure of the case, even before it
went to court and despite repeated denials from people in the
Habibie camp, was enough to undermine his political chances. His
defeat in the presidential election in October was caused in no
small measure by the Bank Bali scandal

Some politicians may feel the scandal has served its purpose
-- to deprive Habibie of the presidency -- but this in no way
should end the search for truth and justice in this country. The
Bank Bali case, which also caused the International Monetary Fund
to delay the disbursement of loans to Indonesia in December, must
be thoroughly investigated to ascertain not only the financial
wrongdoings, but also the allegations of abuses of power.

Judge Soedarto's verdict of not guilty may now stop that
process in its tracks. Since Djoko Tjandra is the prime suspect,
his acquittal will make it difficult for government prosecutors
to build cases against the other suspects, which include a former
Cabinet minister, a senior executive of Golkar Party and a former
Bank Indonesia governor. Essentially, the government no longer
has a strong case against them. Thanks to the judge, now we
probably will never discover the truth behind the story.

The verdict must be sweet music not only to the other
suspects, but also other corruptors, past, present and future. It
has sent the message that white-collar crime pays; the worst that
can happen is to be caught, and if that does happen just return
the money or, as in the case of Djoko Tjandra, offer to return
the money.

The court ruling has repercussions beyond the Bank Bali case
itself. With the verdict going completely against public
expectation, it has further undermined the credibility and
reputation of the courts in upholding justice. We already are
seeing disturbing signs of the increasing public mistrust of the
courts in the growing number of instances of street justice being
meted out by mobs against suspected criminals.

Judge Soedarto's verdict has created a large dent in the
nationwide campaign against corruption, the very theme upon which
the current government was elected. Without the cooperation of
the courts, this anticorruption campaign will become a mere
slogan and corruptors will continue to act with impunity.