Supreme Court annuls Hotasi’s

The Supreme Court has annulled the Jakarta Corruption Court’s decision to acquit former Merpati Nusantara Airlines president director Hotasi Nababan of graft charges.

A panel of Supreme Court justices led by justice Artidjo Alkostar sentenced Hotasi to four years in prison for his role in the corruption case that revolved around the lease of two Boeing aircraft. Hotasi was also ordered to pay Rp 200 million (US$17,344) in fines.

The other defendant in the case, Tony Sudjiarto, a former general manager at Merpati, was also convicted by the Supreme Court.

“My family and I were shocked when we heard the news,” Hotasi said in a statement on Friday.

In February last year, the Jakarta Corruption Court found Hotasi not guilty of breaching a government regulation by failing to report the lease of the two Boeing aircraft at a meeting of the company’s board of directors.

Prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) had charged that the failure to report on the planes violated Law No. 19/2003 on state-owned enterprises. They sought a four-year prison term and a Rp 500 million fine.

The panel of judges also found there was no evidence to support allegations that Hotasi tried to benefit personally via the lease of the aircraft. The judges ordered prosecutors to clear the name of the former executive. Merpati had made a deal with the US-based Thirdstone Aircraft Leasing Group (TALG) in December 2006 to lease a Boeing 737-400 and a Boeing 737-500.

Source:  http://www.thejakartapost.com