ID :
23298
Wed, 10/08/2008 - 20:45
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http://m.oananews.org//node/23298
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EIGHT YEARS IMPRISONMENT DEMANDED FOR BURHANUDDIN ABDULLAH
Jakarta, Oct. 8 (ANTARA) - The prosecution in the court trials of former Bank Indonesia (BI or central bank) governor Burhanuddin Abdullah in the illegal transfer Rp100 billion in BI funds has demanded a jail sentence of eight years for him.
Presenting its demand at a court session here Wednesday, the prosecution comprising public prosecutors KMS. Roni, Rudi Margono, Ketut Sumedana, and Hadiyanto, also demanded that Abudllah be ordered to pay a fine of Rp500 million or remain in prison for six more months.
The former BI chief was considered guilty of corruption as defined in at least two anti-corruption laws.
"The defendant was proven guilty of committing corruption collectively," one of the prosecutors said.
The prosecution in its demand said that Abdullah knew and gave his approval to the use of Rp100 billion from the Indonesian Banking Development Foundation (YPPI).
The funds usage and return were discussed in several meetings of the BI board of governors led by Burhanuddin.
According to the prosecution, the funds were finally used to help former BI executives escape prosecution for their role in the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance (BLBI) scandal.
The BI executives facing legal cases were former BI governor Soedrajad Djiwandono, former BI deputy governor Iwan R Prawiranata, and three former BI directors, namely Heru Supraptomo, Hendro Budianto, and Paul Sutopo. The funds amounted to Rp68.5 billion.
The prosecution said that any legal assistance funds should have been taken from the BI's legal affairs directorate, and not from a source outside BI, in this case YPPI.
The remaining Rp31.5 billion were allegedly spent to maintain a lobby on House of Representatives (DPR) deliberations on amendments to the BI law in 2003.
BI started to give money to DPR following a meeting between Rusli Simanjuntak, BI Governor's bureau chief, and several lawmakers in June 2003. In the meeting, they agreed on the allocation of funds to address the BLBI case and the BI law amendments.
Rusli Simanjuntak later reported to Aulia Pohan, then deputy governor of BI, about the need to give funds to DPR members.
With the approval of Aulia Pohan and Burhanuddin Abdullah, Simanjuntak and Asnar Ashari, a BI staffer, disbursed the funds and handed over Rp31.5 billion to two legislators, namely Antony Zeidra Abidin and Hamka Yandu.
Abdullah and his lawyers would respond to the prosecution's demand at the next court trial session scheduled for October 15, 2008.
Meanwhile, M Assegaf, Abdullah's lawyer, said the disbursement of the YPPI funds was approved by all members of the BI's board of governors. Therefore, if Abdullah was considered guilty, the other members of the BI board of governors should also be held responsible, he said.
Presenting its demand at a court session here Wednesday, the prosecution comprising public prosecutors KMS. Roni, Rudi Margono, Ketut Sumedana, and Hadiyanto, also demanded that Abudllah be ordered to pay a fine of Rp500 million or remain in prison for six more months.
The former BI chief was considered guilty of corruption as defined in at least two anti-corruption laws.
"The defendant was proven guilty of committing corruption collectively," one of the prosecutors said.
The prosecution in its demand said that Abdullah knew and gave his approval to the use of Rp100 billion from the Indonesian Banking Development Foundation (YPPI).
The funds usage and return were discussed in several meetings of the BI board of governors led by Burhanuddin.
According to the prosecution, the funds were finally used to help former BI executives escape prosecution for their role in the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance (BLBI) scandal.
The BI executives facing legal cases were former BI governor Soedrajad Djiwandono, former BI deputy governor Iwan R Prawiranata, and three former BI directors, namely Heru Supraptomo, Hendro Budianto, and Paul Sutopo. The funds amounted to Rp68.5 billion.
The prosecution said that any legal assistance funds should have been taken from the BI's legal affairs directorate, and not from a source outside BI, in this case YPPI.
The remaining Rp31.5 billion were allegedly spent to maintain a lobby on House of Representatives (DPR) deliberations on amendments to the BI law in 2003.
BI started to give money to DPR following a meeting between Rusli Simanjuntak, BI Governor's bureau chief, and several lawmakers in June 2003. In the meeting, they agreed on the allocation of funds to address the BLBI case and the BI law amendments.
Rusli Simanjuntak later reported to Aulia Pohan, then deputy governor of BI, about the need to give funds to DPR members.
With the approval of Aulia Pohan and Burhanuddin Abdullah, Simanjuntak and Asnar Ashari, a BI staffer, disbursed the funds and handed over Rp31.5 billion to two legislators, namely Antony Zeidra Abidin and Hamka Yandu.
Abdullah and his lawyers would respond to the prosecution's demand at the next court trial session scheduled for October 15, 2008.
Meanwhile, M Assegaf, Abdullah's lawyer, said the disbursement of the YPPI funds was approved by all members of the BI's board of governors. Therefore, if Abdullah was considered guilty, the other members of the BI board of governors should also be held responsible, he said.
