An Indonesian court sentenced a businesswoman to five years in jail on Tuesday for bribing a public prosecutor to drop a high-profile investigation in a scandal that has rocked the Attorney General's office.
The case has dominated the news in Indonesia over the past few months, leading to the removal of several officials and raising questions about Indonesia's commitment to tackling corruption, particularly when it relates to big, powerful business interests.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won Indonesia's first direct presidential election in 2004 on promises to reduce widespread graft, boost the economy and create more jobs. Many businesses cite corruption as a deterrent to investment in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
A judge at the corruption court said that Artalyta Suryani, a 45-year-old businesswoman, was found guilty of bribing Urip Tri Gunawan, a prosecutor in the Attorney General's office who handled a graft case against Indonesian tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim. Gunawan had led the prosecutors' investigation into the alleged misuse of central bank funds by Nursalim's bank at the time of the Asian financial crisis, but his office dropped the investigation earlier this year.
Bank Indonesia, the central bank, provided liquidity funds to several banks during the 1997-98 financial crisis in an attempt to prevent the collapse of the banking system. Nursalim's bank was later taken over by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency.
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