TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The detention of Samadikun Hartono should spur the authorities in Indonesia to finally uncover all the facts of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) megascandal. Although Indonesia has had five presidential changes, the investigation into the IBRA case has resembled a traditional poco-poco dance: backwards and forwards on the spot.
Samadikun was detained by Chinese immigration officials in Shanghai on April 15. Officers were suspicious because the former chairman of the board of Bank Modern had travelled back and forth to China on a Vietnamese passport under different names. After 13 years on the run, Samadikun was brought back to Jakarta last Thursday to serve a four-year jail sentence.
The IBRA scandal, which Samadikun was part of, is too big to forget. In 1997, Bank Indonesia paid out around Rp650 trillion to rescue 48 banks that were on the verge of collapse. For example, Bank Modern received a cash injection of around Rp2.5 trillion. The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) calculated that from Rp144.5 trillion, around Rp138.4 trillion were embezzled.
President B.J. Habibie tried to resolve the case outside the courts, using methods including a master settlement and acquisition agreement to settle the debts between creditors and debtors. Then there was a master refinancing and notes issuance agreement to settle shareholders' obligations. But none of these approaches succeeded. President Megawati Sukarnoputri tried an even more controversial policy. Through Presidential Instruction No. 8/2002, embezzlers of IBRA funds who were deemed to be cooperative obtained a release and a discharge, meaning they escaped criminal charges. IBRA then issued a document stating that 22 debtors had paid up. The Attorney-General's Office (AGO) then issued an order to halt the investigation.
Ending the investigation of a scandal involving hundreds of trillions of rupiah is an affront to justice. The IBRA case is no ordinary matter of debts and loans: The stench of dirty corruption is too strong. Dozens of banks came close to collapse because they had intentionally flouted the limits of credit. Bank owners even gave loans-including IBRA funds-to companies within their own conglomerates.
There was renewed hope that the IBRA case would be resolved during the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, when Attorney-General Hendarman Supandji appointed a team comprising 35 prosecutors to handle the case. But until Yudhoyono left office, it was not clear what had happened to the prosecutors' investigation.
In addition to arresting those guilty of embezzling IBRA funds, the AGO must determine who allowed them to escape the legal consequences of their actions. In this, the AGO must not be intimidated by the fact that a political group under the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) led by Megawati is in power again. In the interests of upholding justice, law enforcement authorities must not bow down to any political powers.
The fact that Samadikun was 'accidentally' detained by Chinese immigration officials should serve as a wakeup call for law enforcers in Indonesia. The AGO should be more serious and should act more quickly when pursuing fugitives overseas. After all, the AGO still has a debt to pay, namely arresting other people on the run from corruption charges, such as Joko S. Tjandra, Eddy Tansil, Adelin Lis, Hesham Al Warraq and Rafat Ali Rizvi. The AGO must not wait until these fugitives' luck runs out and they are arrested by the authorities of other countries-like Samadikun. (*)
Read the full story in this week's Tempo English Edition
