(08/16/2007)
JAKARTA  - The Attorney General's Office on Wednesday questioned former state enterprises minister Laksamana Sukardi for the third time in connection with alleged graft in the sale of two super tankers of state oil and gas firm Pertamina.

Laksamana arrived at the Attorney General's Office's oval building at 10:10 a.m., accompanied by his lawyer, Petrus Selestinus.

Nobody has so far been named a suspect in the case.

The Attorney General's Office has already questioned a number of people, including former chief of the defunct Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) Syafruddin Tumenggung in his capacity as a member of Pertamina's board of commissioners.

The alleged graft case started when the company's board of directors and its chief commissioner, without approval from the finance minister, sold the two very large crude carrier (VLCC) super tankers under construction at Hyunday Heasy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea, for US$148 million.

Believed to have caused a financial loss of US$20 million to US$56 million to the state, the transaction was also a violation of Finance Minister's Decree No.89/1991 as the finance minister’s approval was issued only on July 7, 2004.

Laksamana said when they were sold the tankers had not yet become Pertamina's assets as they were then still under construction. (JP/PAB)