KPK official to sit out Bank Century case

JAKARTA. Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto will sit out any deliberation within the anti-graft body concerning the Century Bank bailout scandal, leaving only four commissioners to decide on whether the investigation of the case can proceed.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said late on Monday that Bambang decided not to cast his vote in the case to avoid a conflict of interest given his former position as an attorney for the Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS).

The LPS rescued Bank Century, later restructured as Bank Mutiara, in November 2008.

The LPS gave bailout funds to the bank, which was considered controversial as its total cost jumped to Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million), about 10 times the original estimated amount.

Publicly listed lender Bank Mutiara has been on the market for Rp 6.7 trillion since 2011.

The bank is currently controlled by the LPS and now holds 99.9 percent of Mutiara’s shares.

Johan said that Bambang had no involvement in the handling of the Century case since he was elected as a deputy chairman earlier this year.

Johan, however, said that Bambang would still be involved in any informal discussions about the case with the other commissioners.

Fellow KPK commissioner Busyro Muqoddas said on Tuesday that four other commissioners applauded Bambang’s decision, saying that he had the moral responsibility not to be partial in the case.

Busyro said that the commissioners would discuss whether Bambang would still be allowed to vote in the deliberation of the case within the KPK.

“We will base our decision on the interests of the public. We won’t be influenced by any political considerations,” he said.

The Century saga is once again in the spotlight following the statement from former KPK chairman Antasari Azhar that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono played a key role in the decision to disburse Rp 6.76 trillion to save the
troubled bank.

Antasari told Metro TV news that he was asked to join a closed-door meeting chaired by Yudhoyono in 2009 to discuss what measures should be taken to “save the country” from a possible crisis caused by the collapse of Bank Century.

According to Antasari, several senior government officials attended the meeting, including Vice President Boediono, who was then governor of the central bank, former National Police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri, former attorney general Hendarman Supandji, former coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister Widodo AS, former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, former state secretary Hatta Rajasa, former presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng and a member of the presidential advisory team, Denny Indrayana, now deputy law and human rights minister.

Johan said that the KPK continued to investigate the case. “We are going to arrange a meeting with the House of Representatives monitoring team to discuss the progress of the case,” Johan said.

A member of the House’s monitoring team, I Gede Pasek said that Bambang had earlier told lawmakers about his decision. “He told us in our last meeting and we appreciated his decision,” he said.

Another member of the monitoring team, Bambang Soesatyo, urged the KPK to immediately summon Bank Indonesia and LPS officials.

“It could be a new opening for the KPK to establish the motive behind the bailout,” he explained. (The Jakarta Post)