Ministry Of Finance Ensures To Pay Debt To Jusuf Hamka Company

Office complex of the Ministry of Finance (Photo: Doc. Antara)

The Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) stated that it would fulfill its obligation to make payments to PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada Tbk. (CMNP) owned by businessman Jusuf Hamka.

Special Staff to the Minister of Finance for Strategic Communication Yustinus Prastowo revealed that Jusuf Hamka's payment was the return of deposit funds on behalf of CMNP which was placed in Bank Yama which collapsed during the 1998 crisis.

According to him, because the Yama Bank and CMNP are owned by Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, the guarantee provisions for CMNP deposits do not receive government guarantees because there is an affiliated relationship between CMNP and Bank Yama.

"So that the request for return is rejected by BPPN as an institution that was formed to carry out banking restructuring," he said in a written message to VOI quoted on Wednesday, June 14.

Yustinus explained that CMNP did not accept the BPPN decision, so filed a lawsuit to still get a deposit refund. The CMNP lawsuit was granted and received a decision punishing the Minister of Finance to return the deposit.

"Given that the decision resulted in the burden of state financial expenditure, the implementation of the decision must meet the mechanism for managing state finances based on the State Finance Act, especially the principle of prudence," he said.

Therefore, continued Yustinus, it is necessary to do research in terms of state financial capacity.

"This is intended to maintain public interests that need to be financed by the state and research to ensure that budget expense expenditures have met the provisions of state financial management," he stressed.

For information, this problem stems from the government which has to pay CMNP's deposits and giro at Bank Yakin Makmur (Yama) of IDR 78.84 billion and IDR 76.09 billion, respectively.

The Supreme Court (MA) decided that the government should pay the deposit with the additional provision of paying a 2 percent fine every month until the payment is paid off.

Over time, the government then negotiated with CMNP to agree that debt payments were made without interest or fines. Jusuf Hamka's company objected, until finally both parties agreed with a value of Rp. 179.5 billion.

However, until now Jusuf Hamka and PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada feel that they have not received the rights promised by the government.