Febriamy Hutapea – Just two weeks before the House of Representatives is scheduled to wrap up the ongoing probe into the Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) Bank Century bailout, the special committee investigating the case has yet to reach a conclusion.
Nine factions in the House, having failed on Tuesday to reach a final conclusion on the trail of the bailout money, said that the hearing would be resumed today. What was apparent, however, was that the committee had so far been unable to prove allegations of corruption.
Lawmakers said the special committee had discovered numerous suspicious and fictitious transactions surrounding the bailout following fact-finding visits to five cities, making it impossible to reach a conclusion by Tuesday.
Despite failing to reach a final conclusion, seven of the factions said they would not change their preliminary conclusion, released last week, that the bailout was illegal and mired in corruption. Only President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB) deemed the bailout as lawful.
"There will be no change from the preliminary view, except in regard to the money trail, because that needs further investigation by the police," House special committee member Rommahurmuziy, from the United Development Party (PPP), said after the meeting.
The committee said it had found several transactions that conflicted with information obtained from the Financial Transaction Reports Analysis Center (PPATK).
"The only facts we found concerned banking fraud. Other matters, like corruption, need more investigation by the Corruption Eradication Commission and the National Police," said the committee's deputy chairman, Mahfudz Siddiq, from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
He said the special committee was thus far unable to substantiate suspicions of corruption or trace a stream of money that flowed into the coffers of political parties. "There are indications, but we are constrained by time," Mahfudz said.
Committee chairman Idrus Marham, from the Golkar Party, said each party was expected to deliver its final conclusion today on three main issues: the merging of Bank CIC, Bank Danpac and Bank Pikko to form Bank Century; a short-term loan facility extended to the bank; and the government's decision to bail out the lender.
Several lawmakers suggested postponing the final decision on the money trail, saying more reports from the PPATK on several suspicious transactions would be submitted within days.
Among the alleged irregularities are suspected fictitious accounts, including a well-publicized one belonging to Amiruddin Rustan, the owner of a Makassar auto repair shop.
The PPATK said Amiruddin's account received 33 checks for Rp 2 billion each after the bailout money was disbursed in November 2008.
On Feb. 2, 2009, the National Police blocked the account, which held Rp 24 billion. However, the PPATK found that Rp 10 billion was withdrawn in three transactions while the account was blocked.
"This should be investigated to see whether he lied or there were unknown people using his account to get money for certain interests," Mahfudz said.
Mahfudz said that the special committee would recommend the police expedite its investigation into the bank's money trail.