Budi Mulya Verdict Could Hinder Century Assets Return

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Century Assets Return Team leader Denny Indrayana is worried that Budi Mulya's case may become a hurdle in the process of returning Bank Century's (now Bank Mutiara) assets to the state. The team has been working on returning the assets based on the 2008 crisis as an argument to ensnare Rafat Ali Rizky and Hesham Al Warraq, the controlling shareholder of Century.

"The basis of our argument in the courts of Hong Kong is the crisis. If the Corruption Court said there was no crisis, our [asset recovery efforts] would fail," Denny said yesterday.

The Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights sought to return some of bank Century's assets in Hong Kong worth Rp48 billion. The Hong Kong High Court has granted the Indonesian government's request to seize some Century-related assets in the jurisdiction of the colony.

Meanwhile, the Corruption Court will soon make its verdict for former Bank Indonesia deputy governor Budi Mulya. According to Denny, the Hong Kong court's ruling could change if the prosecutors' charges against Budi Mulya are granted. This would mean that foreign parties could interpret that the state loss from the bailout was a result of the government's fault, and not "because Hesham and Rafat improperly placed Century's securities; resulting in liquidity and solvency problems," he said.

In addition to Hong Kong, Denny said the government is hunting Century assets in other countries. The government has filed legal assistance to 15 jurisdictions including the Mauritius Islands, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Bahamas, Singapore, Luxembourg, Bahrain, Britain, British Virgin Islands, Bermuda Island, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirate.

ALI NY | ANANDA PUTRI