Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has denied intervening in the policy-making process to salvage Bank Century, despite minutes of a meeting allegedly indicating he had been asked to issue a decision.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said Sunday Yudhoyono had never been involved in the decision-making process to issue a bailout to rescue the ailing bank. "The policy making was done wholly by officials in charge of the national financial and banking system."

Julian admitted Yudhoyono had been informed by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati about the bank's condition while the two were in the US attending a G20 meeting. "It's normal for the minister to inform the President about the recent financial situation," he said.

Indications of Yudhoyono's alleged role in the Century bailout have dragged the President's name into the case, which critics have largely blamed on Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Vice President Boediono, who was Bank Indonesia governor when the bailout was issued.

While the government insists the bailout was necessary to avert a systemic threat to the banking sector, legislators and investigators are trying to establish whether violations took place to benefit certain parties.

A document showed that on Nov. 13, 2008, eight days before the bailout decision was taken, 16 Finance Ministry, BI and the Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS) officials met to discuss the recent condition of Bank Century with Mulyani, who joined via teleconference from Washington. Also discussed were "large depositors" of the bank.

As finance minister, Mulyani chaired the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK).

According to notes from the meeting, the participants included top BI officials such as Boediono, then senior deputy governor Miranda S. Goeltom, then deputy governor Muliaman Hadad, then banking supervision director Siti Fadjrijah, and then research and regulatory director Halim Alamsyah.

Also present were then state SOE minister Sofyan Djalil, then tax office chief Darmin Nasution (currently acting BI governor), KSSK secretary Raden Pardede, Presidential Working Unit for Reform Program Management head Marsilam Simanjuntak, Bapepam-LK head Fuad Rahmany, Firdaus Djaelani of the LPS, and deputy minister Sahala Lumban Gaol.

In the meeting, Fadjrijah told Mulyani state firms had deposits worth Rp 412 billion in the bank.

Mulyani told the meeting she had informed the President about Century. "The President is going to San Francisco, so is unable to make a decision until tomorrow," Mulyani was quoted in the notes as saying.

Fadjrijah also told the meeting about Rp 1.5 trillion of deposited funds in Bank Century was owned by the Sampoerna family, including Boedi Sampoerna.

Boedi, according to author George Junus Aditjondro, was a donor to Yudhoyono and his Democratic Party. George said Boedi had invested Rp 150 billion with the Jurnal Nasional newspaper, which effectively served as the mouthpiece for Yudhoyono and his party in elections earlier this year.

The head of the Center for Banking Crisis Indonesia, Deni Danuri, said depositors' names and the size of their funds were confidential and could only be disclosed to BI officials and the finance minister. (bbs)