KPK URGED TO PROBE AGO OFFICIALS OVER BI FUND FLOWS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 16 (ANTARA) - Following the naming of three top Bank Indonesia (BI) officials as suspects in the alleged flows of illegal funds from the central bank, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is now being urged to investigate people in the Attorney General's Office (AGO) who were also suspected to have received the funds.

        In its plenary meeting recently, the KPK declared BI governor Burhannuddin Abdullah along with BI Legal Affairs Director Oey Hoey Tiong and BI Surabaya office director Rusli Simanjuntak suspects in the case of payments to legislators and law enforces.

        Now Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has asked the KPK to include people in the AGO in the list of suspects in the illegal BI funds flow case, saying they had received Rp13.5 billion of the central bank money.

        Adnan Topan Husodo of the ICW's Standing Committee, said the AGO people had received the BI funds for the purpose of mitigating the public's adverse perception of the BLBI (Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance) case.

        The case of BI's funds flowing to lawmakers or members of the House of Representatives (DPR) came to the surface when the State Audit Board reported the case to the KPK in November 2006.

        According to the BPK report, BI disbursed Rp96.25 billion (Rp68.5 billion from the Indonesian Banking Development Foundation (YPBI) and Rp27.7 from the BI budget) to lawmakers and law enforcers in an effort to help solve the legal problems of BI officials involved in the bad BI liquidity assistance (BLBI) case.

        BLBI refers to hundreds of trillions of rupiah in bailout loans BI extended to a number of commercial banks in the country to save them from collapse during the 1997-1998 Asian monetary crisis. However, the loans later turned bad with many of their recipients failing to return all or most of the state money.

        The BPK report mentioned that Rp31.5 billion of the BI funds had flowed to DPR members while the remaining Rp68.5 billion were cashed through several checks and transferred to individual law enforces at the Attorney General's Office (AGO). The money was transferred through a middle man in an effort to stop the legal process that befell BI officials.

        Therefore, the ICW urged the KPK to also include people in the Attorney General's Office in the list of suspects in the illegal BI funds flow case.

        Adnan Topan Husodo said the AGO people had received the BI funds for the purpose of mitigating the public's adverse perception of the BLBI (Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance) case.

        He said the AGO people's involvement in the BI funds flow case was indicated in a letter dated July 4, 2003 from BI's then vice director for legal affairs, Oey Hoey Tiong, to then BI deputy governor Aulia Pohan and Maman Somantri requesting the disbursement of Rp13.5 billion.

        "The request was made because the amount had been paid and needed to be reimbursed," Husodo said.

        In the letter, Oey said the AGO was a "BI stakeholder" in the issuance of BLBI funds and the requested amount would be used to develop the BLBI issue in a way "favorable" to the central bank.

        "In relation with the need to create a favorable attitude toward the BLBI issue among stakeholders in the AGO and to counter negative issues about the BLBI credits as well as to develop positive issues about the same, Mr.Iwan R Prawiranata (a BI deputy governor-Ed) requests Rp13,500,000,000,- in financial assistance." Oey said in the letter.

        The activities carried out by Prawiranata were "occasional and urgent" in nature, Oey said in the letter, a copy of which the ICW had submitted to the KPK.

        Based on the content of Oey's letter, Husodo urged the KPK to take action against "all parties involved in the case, including people in the AGO."

        "The KPK must not be discriminative," he said, adding that in investigating the illegal BI funds flow, the KPK should also target former BI policy-makers as the case began well before the present BI governor, Burhanuddin Abdullah, assumed his position.

        Therefore, ICW coordinator Teten Masduki asked the KPK investigate all BI officials who were involved in the BLBI case, It should not limit itself to the top officials it had named suspects.

        He said that other BI officials should also be questioned because they were present in the BI board of directors meeting on March 20, 2003 put their signatures on the agreement disburse the BI funds.

        Separately, KPK Chairman Antasari Azhar said the commission would carry out its investigation into the illegal BI funds flow case to all the parties involved, including to law enforcers.

        "To whomever the BI funds have flown, we will extend our inquiry in accordance with the available evidence," Azhar said after a coordinative meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Ethics Council at the KPK building.

        (T.A014/A/HAJM/B003) 2. 21:45. (T.A014/A/A014/B003) 16-02-2008 22:42:28