Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has decided not to reopen the Bank Indonesia liquidity assistance (BLBI) case implicating fugitive tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim, although a state prosecutor has been sentenced for accepting bribes to drop the case.
Assistant Attorney General for Special Crimes Marwan Effendi said here Friday Urip Tri Gunawan's conviction – for taking a US$660,000 bribe from also-convicted Artalyta Suryani to drop the BLBI embezzlement case – would not affect the AGO's decision to close the case.
"With or without Urip, bribes or no bribes, the AGO can't continue," he insisted.
According to Marwan, reopening Sjamsul's BLBI case would conflict with several regulations. The 2003 presidential decree on debtors, he added, stipulated a cooperative debtor deserved a letter of settlement and would not be charged for violating the law. "Moreover, according to the 2000 law on national development, the BLBI case should be settled out of court," he said.
Marwan added, Urip's investigation of Sjamsul's case, which found no inflated or fake assets, was done by auditors appointed by the now-defunct Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency. "It would have been suspicious if the debtor (Sjamsul) himself had appointed the auditors, but he didn't," he said.
He said Urip's investigation into the appraisal of Sjamsul's assets had not confirmed any suspicions.
Sjamsul, former owner of the now-defunct Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia, was accused of embezzling Rp 28.4 trillion (US$3.04 billion) in BLBI funds.
The AGO began investigating Sjamsul after discovering values had plummeted on assets he had handed over to the state to pay off his debts, once the government sold the assets on to other parties.
Sjamsul, who also owns Gajah Tunggal Group, handed over three of his companies to repay the Rp 28.4 trillion debt owed the government. However, the companies were later sold for a mere Rp 4.9 trillion.
The BLBI probe was dropped on Feb. 29, 2008, with the AGO citing lack of evidence. Two days later, Artalyta paid Urip off at her house, and the two were arrested the same day.
Marwan said the AGO would reopen the case only if the Jakarta High Court ordered it to do so when it rules on the legal battle being waged by People against Corruption in Indonesia (MAKI).
MAKI had filed a pretrial motion against the AGO with the South Jakarta District Court in April which the district court accepted, ruling May 6 the AGO was to reopen the case.
The ruling said the AGO's decision to halt the investigation was a violation of the 1999 corruption eradication law which states the return of state assets does not nullify the criminal act.
Following the district court verdict, the AGO appealed to the Jakarta High Court.