Central bank's ex-top execs admit receiving share of fund

Andra Wisnu ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 07/22/2008 10:14 AM  |  Headlines

Former head of Bank Indonesia (BI) legal affairs, Oey Hoey Tiong, directed the disbursement of the allegedly misappropriated Rp 68.5 billion (US$7.45 million) BI fund, witnesses said during a trial here Monday.

During the trial in the Corruption Court, former members of the BI board of governors -- Iwan R. Prawiranatha, Hendro Budiyanto and Soedradjad Djiwandono -- admitted to receiving money from the BI fund.

The three recipients of the money said that in April 2003, Oey had told them about the available fund and had overseen the distribution of the money. The witnesses said they were told to ask the Indonesian Banking Development Foundation (YPPI), a BI proxy in charge of educational campaigns, for the money

The three witnesses said that, at Oey's suggestion, they later requested the money from the central bank in the form of assistance.

In June 2003, BI released the funds to the witnesses in cash -- an estimated Rp 48.5 billion.

Two other former senior BI officials, Heru Soepraptomo (deceased) and Paul Sutopo, received the rest of the fund.

"I personally took the money because the others took it too," Hendro said.

The three witnesses denied the prosecutors' charges that Oey had disbursed the money to help them cover their legal expenses.

Hendro and Soedradjad said they had used the money to implement an education program to change public opinion, which was strongly opposed to the BLBI policy.

Iwan said he took the money simply to keep it safe. He said he bought a house on Jl. Cikajang in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, to protect the money's value and saved the rest in a bank account.

"I always kept Oey updated on what I was doing with my money," Iwan said. "In my case, he did not agree or object when I bought the house."

However, the witnesses could not explain why the money had been turned into loans in late 2006, the same year the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) found irregularities in the BLBI fund program.

They all denied any knowledge of a connection between the BI decision to transform the financial assistance into loans and the BPK findings.

"All I know is we had to sign a letter, agreeing that the funds be turned into loans, with 0 percent interest," Soedradjad said. "I was worried but decided to agree because I trusted Oey."

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) declared Oey a suspect following their discovery that Oey met with former BI governor Burhanuddin Abdullah to discuss the disbursement of the allegedly misappropriated fund.

Oey has been charged with graft and abuse of power and will face a life sentence if found guilty.

He did not dispute or corroborate the testimonies.

The KPK also declared former BI Surabaya bureau chief Rusli Simanjuntak, whose case is being heard in the same trial as Oey, a suspect in a bribery case.

Prosecutors have charged Rusli for bribing lawmakers in the then House of Representatives Commission IX for financial affairs (now Commission XI). He allegedly gave them Rp 40 billion to resolve the BLBI case and amend the BI law.

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