TEMPO, No. 29/VII/March 20 - 26, 2007
Cover Story
Yusril in the Spotlight, Hamid in the Headlights
Minister Hamid Awaludin is reported to have played a role in getting Tommy Suharto's
money withdrawn from Bank Paribas in London. Tempo investigations show he even
directed where the money should be transferred.
TWO letters, sent by Hamid Awaludin, the Minister of Justice & Human Rights, dated
April 4, 2005 were sent simultaneously to two branch offices of Bank Paribas. One is
the office in London, located on Harewood Avenue, and the other office is at Saint
Peter Port in Guernsey, the Channel Islands.
In these letters, Hamid requested that funds belonging to PT Motorbike be transferred
to the account of the Justice & Human Rights Minister, at the Tebet branch of BNI, on
Jalan Profesor Supomo 25, South Jakarta. Hamid asked that the transfer be made in
US dollars.
PT Motorbike is owned by Hutomo (Tommy) Mandala Putra, the son of former
Indonesian President Suharto. This company is registered in the Bahamas, one of the
Caribbean islands. In addition to Motorbike, Tommy also owns Garnet Ltd, which is
headquartered in the British Virgin Islands.
These two companies deposited funds in two branches of the Banque Nationale de
Paris (BNP) Paribas, a famous private European bank with its headquarters in Paris,
France. The Garnet money was deposited in Bank Paribas' Guernsey branch, while
Motorbike deposited its funds in the London branch.
The deposits were quite significant. About Rp630 billion is in the Guernsey branch
while over US$10 million was deposited in the London branch. These funds have been
the subject of polemics over the past three weeks.
The Indonesian government and Tommy Suharto are now battling over the money in
the Guernsey branch of Bank Paribas. The government suspects that these funds
came from Tommy Suharto's illegal businesses in Indonesia. This suspicion started
from a report made by the Financial Intelligence Service (FIS)—a financial monitoring
body based in the UK.
This institution suspected that something was wrong with the money, that it was
somehow connected with Suharto. At the request of FIS, Paribas froze the two
accounts.
Failing to withdraw the funds, Garnet dragged Paribas to a Guernsey court. There
have been two hearings on this case. The third is to be held on March 30. That's
where the Guernsey money is right now.
Now let us take a look at Motorbike's money in Paribas London. Tommy's money was
deposited there in 2001. A year later, Tommy Suharto—who at that time was carrying
out his sentence at Nusakambangan Prison for the murder of Supreme Court Justice
Syafiuddin Kartasasmita—asked Irvan Gading to withdraw his money. Irvan has been
Tommy's close friend since elementary school.
Irvan then asked for the help of Ihza & Ihza, a legal firm part owned by Yusril Ihza
Mahendra, who at that time was the Justice & Legal Affairs Minister. Hidayat Achyar
was the Ihza & Ihza lawyer who handled the case. Irvan, Hidayat, and Motorbike
executive Sudjaswin Lubis went to London to withdraw the money.
Their efforts failed. Paribas refused to release the money. The bank suspected the
funds were part of a money laundering activity. After a sharp exchange of words with
Tommy's delegates, Paribas set a condition: the money can be released with
verification from the Indonesian government. The verification should say that Motorbike
and its owners were not connected with money laundering. Irvan, Hidayat, and
Sudjaswin headed for home.
Once back in Jakarta, they went to work. With the assistance of the Justice & Human
Rights Department, which at that time was headed by Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Hidayat
and Irvan were able to obtain the needed verification. Lately, however, some
institutions denied having provided the Justice Department with verification.
Some people have accused Yusril of using his post to facilitate the release of
Tommy's money. Saldi Isra, an expert in public administration law from Andalas
University in Padang, suspects that Tommy Suharto chose the office of Ihza & Ihza
because Yusril was then the Justice Minister. "It is fair to say it was a
mutually-benefiting arrangement," said Saldi to Rini Kustiani of Tempo.
Members of the House of Representatives (DPR) also protested. "If he was handling a
case directly connected with his position as Minister, then it was inappropriate," said
Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa, a member of the House's Commission on Legal Affairs.
Yusril strongly denies there was a conflict of interest. "People forget that I was the
one who moved Tommy Suharto to Nusakambangan," he maintains. He insists he
never knew about Tommy's money. "The process to withdraw the money took place
when Hamid Awaludin was the Justice & Human Rights minister," he said.
Since Yusril began his job as State Secretary, the money has yet to be released.
Further efforts to obtain it were taken up by Minister Hamid.
On February 18, 2005 the Justice & Human Rights Department sent a letter to the
Chairman of the Financial Transactions Reporting & Analyis Center (PPATK). The
letter was signed by Zulkarnain Yunus, Director-General of Legal Administration.
In the letter, Hamid requested a clear-cut statement from the PPATK regarding
Tommy's legal status. Were Tommy, Sudjaswin Lubis, and Abdurrahman Abdul Kadir
Mulahela—the three founders of Motorbike—connected with suspicious transactions or
reports related to money laundering.
They received a reply 10 days later, signed by Yunus Husein, the PPATK Chairman.
As Yunus told Tempo, they could not find any suspicious financial transactions in
their database involving those three people. This was happy news for Tommy's friends.
In the last part of the letter, however, Yunus noted three important issues. First, this
information was confidential. Second, it could not be forwarded to a third party without
the written consent of PPATK. Third, the information could not be used as evidence in
an investigation, lawsuit, or trial, without the consent of the PPATK.
The opposite happened: Minister Hamid forwarded this information to Paribas. In
addition to asking Paribas to transfer the money to a bank account in Bank Negara
Indonesia (BNI), Tebet branch. He also sent another letter to Paribas on April 4, 2005.
Let's take a look at the contents of this second letter. It made four important points.
First, Hamid emphasized that, based on a confidential letter from PPATK dated
February 28, 2005 Tommy, Sudjaswin Lubis, and Abdurrahman Mulahela had never
been reported for making a suspicious transaction.
Motorbike, said Hamid, was not currently involved in any criminal cases. Similarly,
there were no indications from the court that the company was in any legal trouble.
For these reasons, said Hamid, "There is no legal reason for the government to
withhold that money."
In addition to Paribas, this confidential information was also relayed to the Bank
Indonesia Governor. This third letter from Minister Hamid had the same date as the
previous two letters: April 4, 2005.
The letter was just to keep them informed. In it, Hamid emphasized that they had
already received information from the PPATK head that the names of the Motorbike
executives were not connected with any money laundering activities.
A Tempo source in one of the government's agencies was shocked that Hamid would
leak this information to Paribas. "Yunus Husein stressed that the information may not
be forwarded to other parties," said the source.
Yunus Husein strongly denied causing any leakages. "So it was sent to many places,
was it?" he said. This information, "was forwarded in an irresponsible manner."
A number of legal experts were astonished as to why Hamid allowed Tommy's
personal money be deposited in a government bank account. Law No. 1/2004 on the
State Treasury clearly forbids the use of government bank accounts to hold funds from
individuals or private companies. "That bank account was only for the receipt of
non-tax state revenues," said Romli Atmasasmita, a former Director-General of Legal
Administration and a professor at Padjadjaran University, Bandung.
A similar statement was made by Secretary-General of the Finance Department,
Mulia Nasution. The Department only has the authority to manage state funds, not
personal or private funds. "Some may have been looking for extra work," he
suggested.
Efforts to have the money withdrawn finally paid off. The funds were transferred to the
bank account in the BNI, Tebet branch, on June 14, 2005. The amount transferred
came to about Rp100 billion. Zulkarnain Yunus opened this account in April 2005
specially to hold Tommy Suharto's money.
However, this mountain of money did not stay long. On the very same day, a certain
amount was sent to the bank account of PT PSA in BNI, Melawai Raya branch, South
Jakarta. This company is owned by someone with the initials IYG, a close friend of
Tommy's.
In just two days' time, the money was diverted to various places. There seems to have
been four recipients. The first were companies owned by Tommy, the second was his
close friend IYG, the third was the Ihza & Ihza lawyers, and the fourth was a
withdrawal by cashiers check (see infographic).
The identities of the recipients in the first three categories were very clear. However,
the identity of the person who made a withdrawal by a check dated June 15, 2005 is
still a mystery. The amount of this check was Rp4.5 billion. A Tempo source in the
government encouraged the police to question IYG to find out who actually got the
money. "It can be found out from IYG who the money was given to."
Hamid denied receiving any money belonging to Tommy Suharto. "If anyone says that
I took money, then it is a cruel accusation," he said. Even if Hamid helped in getting
the money released, this was because "The process began before I was Minister," he
said.
A Tempo source in the government said that Yunus had already reported this case to
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, two weeks ago, when the story broke. The
President, said the source, promised he, "will consult with the related institutions,
including the KPK." Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said that he did not
know about this matter. "I haven't heard that yet," said Andi.
Wenseslaus Manggut, Kurie Suditomo, Agoeng Wijaya
Motorbike's Money Race
Traces of Yusril and Hamid
How the Money Was Moved
February 26, 2004
Hidayat Achyar from the law firm of Ihza & Ihza sends a letter to the Justice & Human
Rights Minister, asking the government to make a legal opinion stating that Motorbike
International Limited, owned by Hutomo Mandala Putra, is not involved in any money
laundering cases.
April 19, 2004
Director-General for Legal Affairs Zulkarnain Yunus sends a letter to the Financial
Transactions Reporting & Analysis Center (PPATK), asking for information about
Motorbike and money laundering. BNP Paribas, London states that, in order to
release the money, Paribas needs a statement saying the money in question is free
from government claims, to be indicated in an official document.
May 17, 2004
PPATK head Yunus Husein replies to a letter from the Director-General of Legal
Affairs at the Justice & Human Rights Department, stating that Motorbike has never
been reported for conducting suspicious financial transactions.
May 20, 2004
The Director-General for Legal Affairs sends a legal opinion about the money in
Paribas to Ihza & Ihza and BNP Paribas.
June 4, 2004
Minister Yusril sends a letter to BNP Paribas Guernsey, stating that the bank has no
right to withhold Motorbike's funds.
June 10, 2004
Sudjaswin and Abdurrahman Mulahela attempt to withdraw US$100,000 in cash from
Motorbike bank account 42248-2 in Guernsey from London. The withdrawal is denied.
July 22, 2004
Sudjaswin E. Lubis and Abdurrahman Mulahela send a written order to transfer
US$100,000 from the Guernsey bank account to the bank accounts of V Power
Corporation in a bank in Jakarta and a bank in New York. The order was denied.
October 20, 2004
Cabinet change: Hamid Awaludin is appointed as the Justice & Human Rights
Minister.
February 1, 2005
BNP Paribas London sends a letter, asking for confirmation on the three executives
and Motorbike stockholders regarding suspicions of money laundering transactions.
February 8, 2005
The Director-General for Legal Affairs at the Justice & Human Rights Department asks
the PPATK for a reconfirmation on the status of Motorbike executives.
February 28, 2005
The head of the PPATK sends a confidential reply to the Director-General for Legal
Affairs, stating that the Motorbike executives and primary stockholders are not
involved in any suspicious transactions.
April 4, 2005
Minister of Justice & Human Rights Hamid Awaludin sends a letter of notification to
the Governor of Bank Indonesia regarding the request of BNP Paribas to hold funds
belonging to Motorbike in escrow, which are then to be given to Motorbike executives.
The Justice Department sends a letter to BNP Paribas London to convey that, based
on the explanation given by the PPATK on February 28, 2005 Tommy, Sudjaswin
Lubis and Abdurrahman Mulahela are not suspected of being involved in money
laundering.
Minister Hamid asks BNP Paribas to send Motorbike's funds to BNI, Tebet branch.
June 14, 2005
The money to be held in escrow for Motorbike is transferred to a BNI Tebet bank
account.
February 1, 2006
Zulkarnain Yunus is appointed Secretary-General of the Justice & Human Rights
Department. He continues to hold the post of Director-General for Legal Affairs until
July 2006.
June 9, 2006
The bank account at BNI Tebet is closed.
copyright TEMPO 2003
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