Yusril, Hamid 'must be held accountable' for Tommy money

An academic and an activist have alleged that two cabinet members implicated in the transfer of US$10 million belonging to Hutomo Tommy Mandala Putra into a Justice and Human Rights Ministry bank account abused their authority in endorsing the transfer.

Public Financial Law professor Arifin P. Soeria Atmadja of the University of Indonesia and Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Teten Masduki said State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin should be held accountable for the 2004 transfer of the money from the London branch of Bank Nationale de Paris (BNP) Paribas into an account of the Justice and Human Rights Ministry's Directorate General of General Legal Administration. I think the President, as the supreme authority for the management of the state's finances, must reprimand and punish the two ministers over the transfer of Tommy's money, Soeria Atmadja told a discussion at the ICW office in South Jakarta. The two were responsible for opening the ministry's account to facilitate the transfer... And they did it without the consent of the minister of finance, he said. It was also wrong of them to let the money go out of the ministry's account later on, he added. The professor said the money kept in the ministry's account belonged to the state and that any outflows of state money must be conducted through the state budget. Asked about possible punishment for the two ministers, Soeria Atmadja said besides sanctions from the President, they must return all the losses the state incurred following the release of the $10 million. Teten said the actions of both Yusril and Hamid met the criteria for corruption. Therefore, they could also face corruption charges, he said. Both Yusril and Hamid have denied any wrongdoing. Yusril has said the transfer was conducted in late 2004 by his successor, Hamid, when the cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was already established. Hamid, however, said the process to have the money transferred to the ministry's account had started in February, 2004 when Yusril was still the justice minister and continued until 2005, when he had already succeeded Yusril. ICW has also implicated Justice Ministry Secretary General Zulkarnaen Yunus in the case. Zulkarnaen, who was the director general of general legal administration when Tommy withdrew the money, has been detained since last month. Soeria Atmadja dismissed the government's argument that no legal violation had occurred because when the money was released the ministry's account was being used as a medium for the transfer from Paribas to Motorbike Corp, a company owned by Tommy. There is no single article in the law on state money mentioning the possibility of using the government's account as a medium to transfer an amount of money to another account, he said. Moreover, the use of a government account for private use violates state financial and treasury laws, the professor added. Imanuddin Razak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta (April 13, 2007) Source: The Jakarta Post, April 13, 2007