Samad: Sri Mulyani's Testimony may Unravel Bank Century Graft  

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Abraham Samad, head of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), said that former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati provided information that can unveil the mystery shrouding the investigation of the Rp6.7 trillion (US$716.9 million) Bank Century bailout.

"Sri Mulyani's statement to investigators in America is a piece of information that had never been given before. And this information may create opportunities to unravel the Century case," Samad told reporters on Friday, May 25.

Sri Mulyani's statement would be perfect, Samad said, if it is supported by the testimony of former Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor, Budi Mulya. Budi had already been named as a suspect in this case.

In addition to testifying, Sri Mulyani also submitted a number of important documents that had not been submitted before, Samad stated.

KPK has named Budi Mulya and Siti Chalimah Fadjrijah, BI deputy governor for supervision, as suspects in the Century graft on November 20, 2012.

Budi and Siti  are accused of abusing their authorities in providing the Short-Term Financing Facility (FPJP) to Bank Century in 2008, by changing the minimum Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) for FPJP recipients to 2.35 percent from the initial limit of eight percent. With the lowered limit, Bank Century, which had a low CAR, became eligible to receive a grant of Rp502.07 billion.

KPK questioned Sri Mulyani Indrawati intensively from April 30 to June 2 at the Indonesian Embassy in Washington DC, USA. The antigraft commission also questioned former BI officials--currently living in parts of the world--as witnesses.

FEBRIANA FIRDAUS