Indonesian ex-central bank chief gets five years for graft
High level graft: Former central bank governor Burhanuddin Abdullah (C) being guarded by policemen prior to his trial in Jakarta, yesterday. Picture: AFP
Thursday, October 30, 2008
A RELATIVE of Indonesia's president was named as a suspect yesterday in the corruption scandal engulfing the central bank while a former governor was jailed for five years.
Burhanuddin Abdullah was convicted by the anti-corruption court in Jakarta of embezzling US$10.3 million ($15.4 million) in bank funds to bribe lawmakers and hire lawyers to defend bank officials facing corruption allegations.
"The defendant has been proved legally and convincingly to have been corrupt and must be sentenced to five years in jail and fined 250 million rupiah ($356,000)," judge Gusrizal told the court.
Abdullah served as Bank Indonesia governor from 2003 until he was replaced earlier this year.
He told reporters as he was being led away by police that he would appeal.
"I'm very disappointed with the decision and will file an appeal... I will never stop pursuing truth and justice," he said.
The scandal has severely damaged the credibility of the central bank but the sentence was less than the eight years' jail and 500-million-rupiah fine demanded by the prosecution.
Anti-corruption campaigners said that while Abdullah may not have been the ringleader of the cash-for-favours ring his seniority in a core institution warranted a stiffer penalty.
"He should have received a minimum of 10 years because the maximum under Indonesian law is 20 years," Indonesia Corruption Watch researcher Febri Diansyah said.
"I think the sentence is a failure because his position in the central bank ... warrants the maximum sentence."
Meanwhile the scandal deepened with investigators announcing that Aulia Pohan, the father-in-law of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's son, Agus Harimurti, has been declared a suspect along with three other former deputy bank governors.
Two other bank officials and two MPs are also on trial over the scandal, which is seen as a litmus test for Yudhoyono's self-declared war on corruption ahead of elections next year. The Corruption Eradication Commission, which is investigating the case, said inquiries were continuing.
"We named the suspects based on our findings from previous trials ," commission chairman said.AFP
Burhanuddin Abdullah was convicted by the anti-corruption court in Jakarta of embezzling US$10.3 million ($15.4 million) in bank funds to bribe lawmakers and hire lawyers to defend bank officials facing corruption allegations.
"The defendant has been proved legally and convincingly to have been corrupt and must be sentenced to five years in jail and fined 250 million rupiah ($356,000)," judge Gusrizal told the court.
Abdullah served as Bank Indonesia governor from 2003 until he was replaced earlier this year.
He told reporters as he was being led away by police that he would appeal.
"I'm very disappointed with the decision and will file an appeal... I will never stop pursuing truth and justice," he said.
The scandal has severely damaged the credibility of the central bank but the sentence was less than the eight years' jail and 500-million-rupiah fine demanded by the prosecution.
Anti-corruption campaigners said that while Abdullah may not have been the ringleader of the cash-for-favours ring his seniority in a core institution warranted a stiffer penalty.
"He should have received a minimum of 10 years because the maximum under Indonesian law is 20 years," Indonesia Corruption Watch researcher Febri Diansyah said.
"I think the sentence is a failure because his position in the central bank ... warrants the maximum sentence."
Meanwhile the scandal deepened with investigators announcing that Aulia Pohan, the father-in-law of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's son, Agus Harimurti, has been declared a suspect along with three other former deputy bank governors.
Two other bank officials and two MPs are also on trial over the scandal, which is seen as a litmus test for Yudhoyono's self-declared war on corruption ahead of elections next year. The Corruption Eradication Commission, which is investigating the case, said inquiries were continuing.
"We named the suspects based on our findings from previous trials ," commission chairman said.AFP
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