Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 11/21/2008 8:55 AM | Headlines
The Attorney General’s Office on Thursday halted an investigation into alleged graft in the controversial sale of two tankers by state oil and gas firm Pertamina, citing no state losses in the case.
The AGO also repealed the suspect status it had imposed on former state minister for state enterprises Laksamana Sukardi and Pertamina’s former president director Ariffi Nawawi and finance director Alfred Rohimone.
AGO spokesman Jasman Pandjaitan said officials from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) had failed to calculate any state losses from the 2004 sale of two very large crude carriers (VLCC) to Bermuda-based Frontline Inc. Earlier estimates put the losses at US$56 million.
“Like it or not, the AGO must drop this case because auditors could not calculate state losses due to the lack of comparative price standards,” he said.
He added the halt to the probe followed a meeting on Thursday morning involving the AGO, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the Development and Finance Comptroller Agency (BPKP) and the BPK, to discuss the case.
“Prosecutors tried to examine other aspects such as production costs and rental fees for the tankers, but continued to find difficulties because there were no comparative prices,” Jasman explained.
Pertamina sold the carriers for US$184 million, which according to an audit by the Financial and Development Supervisory Board, fell far short of the market price of around US$ 204 million to US$240 million at that time.
Observers also pointed out errors in the transaction, citing the lack of approval from the finance minister at the time, acting as the state treasurer.
The Pertamina Workers Union, citing the supervisory board’s audit, then reported the case to the KPK.
After a two-year investigation, the KPK announced in early 2007 there was no indication of graft in the transactions, and handed the case over to the AGO.
The AGO later named three suspects in the case — Laksamana who also Pertamina’s chief commissioner, Ariffi and Alfred.
“Now that we have dropped the investigation, we’ll ensure the reputations of Laksamana and other two are not damaged. We’ll also lift the overseas travel bans on them,” Jasman said.
“We want to drop the case because we don’t want to discredit the three men.”
Laksamana, currently a senior member of the Reform Democracy Party (PDP) after falling out with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), welcomed the AGO’s announcement and asked that it help restore his battered credibility.
He had earlier said that as an assistant to then president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who currently chairs the PDI-P, he was simply following her orders as stipulated in a 2003 presidential decree on the transfer of authority from the finance minister to the state minister for state enterprises to sell assets owned by state companies.
He also argued that at the time of the sales, Pertamina was experiencing a cash deficit.
The Attorney General’s Office on Thursday halted an investigation into alleged graft in the controversial sale of two tankers by state oil and gas firm Pertamina, citing no state losses in the case.
The AGO also repealed the suspect status it had imposed on former state minister for state enterprises Laksamana Sukardi and Pertamina’s former president director Ariffi Nawawi and finance director Alfred Rohimone.
AGO spokesman Jasman Pandjaitan said officials from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) had failed to calculate any state losses from the 2004 sale of two very large crude carriers (VLCC) to Bermuda-based Frontline Inc. Earlier estimates put the losses at US$56 million.
“Like it or not, the AGO must drop this case because auditors could not calculate state losses due to the lack of comparative price standards,” he said.
He added the halt to the probe followed a meeting on Thursday morning involving the AGO, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the Development and Finance Comptroller Agency (BPKP) and the BPK, to discuss the case.
“Prosecutors tried to examine other aspects such as production costs and rental fees for the tankers, but continued to find difficulties because there were no comparative prices,” Jasman explained.
Pertamina sold the carriers for US$184 million, which according to an audit by the Financial and Development Supervisory Board, fell far short of the market price of around US$ 204 million to US$240 million at that time.
Observers also pointed out errors in the transaction, citing the lack of approval from the finance minister at the time, acting as the state treasurer.
The Pertamina Workers Union, citing the supervisory board’s audit, then reported the case to the KPK.
After a two-year investigation, the KPK announced in early 2007 there was no indication of graft in the transactions, and handed the case over to the AGO.
The AGO later named three suspects in the case — Laksamana who also Pertamina’s chief commissioner, Ariffi and Alfred.
“Now that we have dropped the investigation, we’ll ensure the reputations of Laksamana and other two are not damaged. We’ll also lift the overseas travel bans on them,” Jasman said.
“We want to drop the case because we don’t want to discredit the three men.”
Laksamana, currently a senior member of the Reform Democracy Party (PDP) after falling out with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), welcomed the AGO’s announcement and asked that it help restore his battered credibility.
He had earlier said that as an assistant to then president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who currently chairs the PDI-P, he was simply following her orders as stipulated in a 2003 presidential decree on the transfer of authority from the finance minister to the state minister for state enterprises to sell assets owned by state companies.
He also argued that at the time of the sales, Pertamina was experiencing a cash deficit.
