BJU Group Senior Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for LPEI Corruption Case

JAKARTA - The director and beneficial owner of a number of companies belonging to the Bara Jaya Utama Group (BJU), Hendarto, was sentenced to 8 years in prison after being proven guilty of corruption in the case of granting financing facilities by the Indonesian Export Financing Institution (LPEI).

"The defendant is proven to be legally and convincingly guilty of committing corruption in a joint and continuing manner as in the first indictment," said Presiding Judge Brelly Yuniar Dien when reading the verdict at the Corruption Court (Tipikor) Jakarta, Monday, June 22, reported by ANTARA.

The panel of judges stated that Hendarto was proven to have enriched himself by Rp1.06 trillion and 49.88 million US dollars, resulting in a loss of state finances in the amount.

In addition to imprisonment, Hendarto was sentenced to a fine of Rp500 million with the provision that if not paid, it will be replaced with imprisonment for 140 days.

The panel of judges also imposed an additional penalty in the form of payment of compensation of IDR 1.06 trillion and US$ 49.88 million. If not paid, the sentence is replaced with a prison sentence of 7 years.

The judge explained that the value of the substitute money had taken into account cash of around Rp. 3.78 billion which was deposited into the KPK's escrow account as well as assets that had been confiscated by investigators.

In this case, Hendarto was considered to have committed corruption together with a number of LPEI officials whose cases were handled separately, namely Kukuh Wirawan, Ngalim Sawega, Dwi Wahyudi, Basuki Setyadjid, Arif Setiawan, and Omar Baginda Pane.

According to the panel of judges, one of the illegal acts committed was the use of LPEI financing facilities to finance plantation businesses located in protected forest areas and conservation areas.

In addition to enriching himself, Hendarto's actions have also been proven to enrich others, including Dwi Wahyudi by Rp7 billion and 227 thousand US dollars, Arif Setiawan by 50 thousand US dollars, and Kukuh Wirawan by Rp500 million and 120 thousand US dollars.

For his actions, Hendarto was found guilty of violating the provisions of the criminal act of corruption as stipulated in the National Criminal Code and the Law on Eradication of Corruption.

In its consideration, the panel of judges said that the aggravating factor was that the defendant did not support efforts to eradicate corruption, caused huge losses to the state, and used part of the proceeds of corruption to gamble and buy luxury goods.

As for the mitigating circumstances, Hendarto is in a sick condition, has never been convicted, and has been cooperative during the trial.

The verdict is the same as the public prosecutor's demand, namely a prison sentence of 8 years and a fine of Rp. 500 million with 140 days of imprisonment.

However, the value of the substitute money imposed by the judge is lower than the prosecutor's demand of IDR 1.6 trillion and 14.95 million US dollars.