Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia is in the midst of a crackdown. Between 1997 and 1999, the government lent US$14 billion to ailing banks to keep them from going under.
But audits since then have shown "improprieties" involving as much as 95 per cent of that money, and the bulk of this money appears to have simply disappeared.
Two weeks ago, the courts sentenced three former senior directors of Bank Indonesia (BI), the country's central bank, to jail. More verdicts are expected.
The scandal might even rope in – and the attorney-general might question – Finance Minister Boediono and former central bank governor Sudradjad Djiwandono.
Justice at last? Well, not exactly, if what the folks here are saying is any indication. People are talking about bank owners, those who had assumed direct control over the cash after it left BI. They are rich, and perhaps above the law.
Anti-corruption experts share the same sentiment. The signs are not encouraging. The clean-up campaign may be netting some small fry but the big ones are getting away, they say.
Some examples: Bank owner Samadikun Hartono. Accused of embezzling 1.69 trillion rupiah during his tenure as president of the Modern Bank, he got off scot-free in August last year.
Bank owner Kaharudin Ongko. Accused of swindling the state out of 6.7 trillion rupiah, he was cleared of all charges in January.
Bank owner David Nusa Wijaya. Declared guilty of illegally taking 1.27 trillion rupiah, he has gone missing, whereabouts unknown, the authorities claim.
Other prominent members of the Indonesian business circles have made various deals with the government and handed over assets to cover what they owed. So, how does it work? These people return money they allegedly stole and so they do not face corruption charges? Experts are disgusted by what they are seeing and think there is no way the government can catch the rich. A convicted BI official said the courts seemed interested only in coming up with scapegoats. The conviction track record backs up that assertion.
The credibility of Indonesia and its courts is at one of its lowest points ever. Tough judgments against rich tycoons might be one way to fix that bad image. Unfortunately, many who are familiar with how things work here are saying: "Don't hold your breath."