Indonesian vice-president quizzed in corruption case
Anti-graft investigators question Boediono as a witness in billion dollar bank bailout case from 2008
Indonesian Vice-President Boediono has said he was questioned as a witness by anti-graft investigators over a controversial bank bailout, in a case that could prove problematic for the government ahead of polls next year.
The case centres on a 6.76 trillion rupiah (HK$4.53 billion) government bailout of small lender Bank Century at the onset of the financial crisis in 2008.
The total amount paid out to save the bank was far higher than the initial proposal of just 680 billion rupiah, and bailout money was allegedly siphoned off by well-connected depositors.
The case rocked the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and renewed attention on it comes as his beleaguered party seeks to claw back popularity ahead of elections next year following a string of corruption scandals.
Boediono was central bank governor at the time of the bailout and along with other top officials, including then finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, authorised the bank rescue.
“I can only say that I had carried out my responsibility with all sincerity ... in the face of extraordinary challenges.”
Indrawati now works for the World Bank in Washington and was questioned over the case earlier this year as a witness.
