KPK : CENTURY CASE INVOLVES ELEMENTS OF STATE MONEY

Jakarta, Dec 17 (ANTARA) - The problematic Bank Century case involves elements of state-owned funds, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chief Bibit Samad Rianto has said.

"It involves state money," Bibit said at a function to launch his book titled "Corrupters Go to Hell" here on Wednesday night.

He made the statement referring to a public discourse around the claim that no state money was used in the Bank Century bailout. The argumentation was that the Rp6.7 trillion bailout from the Indonesian Deposit Insurance Institute (LPS) was not state money because the funds controlled by LPS came from premium payments by private banks.

But Bibit refuted the argument , saying that LPS was established with initial capital from the government, and in addition, the LPS had to coordinate with the government through the House of Representatives (DPR) if it was short of funds.

He said KPK was a state institution tasked only to handle alleged corruption criminal cases which inflicts state loss.

In addition, the KPK was responsible only to investigate alleged corruption involving law enforcers and state officials.

Bibit's point of view was supported by former economic, financial and industrial affairs coordinating minister Kwik Kian Gie who said LPS received an injection of Rp4 trillion from the state as its initial capital.

"LPS was established with an initial capital of Rp4 trillion from the government," Kwik said.

Kwik also rejected the argument that LPS did not get its funds from the government but from the premium payments by private banks. .

The senior economist said part of the premiums was obtained from state-owned banks and therefore LPS funds were also state owned.

He dismissed the pretext that LPS funds were state money that had been separated so it could not be considered as state-owned.

Citing an example, Kwik said, former Bank Indonesia governor Burhanuddin Abdullah was convicted for corruption as he had approved the the illegal use of Rp100 billion from the Indonesian Banking Development Foundation (YPPI). Although controlled by the the YPPI, the funds involved were considered state money.