Chief prosecutor to meet with other govt officials over Galuh Cempaka case
Monday, March 12 2001 - 04:30 AM WIB
South Kalimantan chief prosecutor Yushar Yahya said that he would meet with other related government officials to check whether the diamond transferred by diamond mining company PT Galuh Cempaka to Jakarta was considered legal or not.
"We'll have to meet with other (government) institutions to decide whether the diamond (transfer) is legal or illegal before we take further action," Yushar was quoted by the Kapos daily in response to a question over plans by South Kalimantan Governor Sjachriel Darham to take criminal charges against Galuh Cempaka for alleged illegal transfer of its diamond output from the Banjarbaru area to Jakarta for sale.
Sjachriel had earlier said that Galuh was not supposed to transfer its diamond output to Jakarta for sale because the company only had exploration license, not exploitation license. He had also said that Galuh must first pay the necessary royalty and taxes to the local administration if it wanted to sell the diamond output.
But Galuh had insisted that it made the transfer only for the purpose of acid washing, which is legal according to the exploration license. The company said that the diamond was kept in a safe place.
Sjachriel, however, demanded the company to prove that the diamond already transferred to Jakarta had not been sold.
The Galuh Cempaka case has grabbed the attention of the local press, which dubbed the case as "intan-gate." Intan is the Indonesian word for diamond.
PT Galuh Cempaka is owned by Australian miner Ashton Mining (80 percent) in partnership with state owned miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) (20 percent).
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has recently acquired majority of Ashton share, giving it indirect control of Galuh Cempaka.
The project area is subject to a seventh generation Contract of Work (CoW), which was awarded by the Indonesian Minister of Mines on 19 February 1998. (*)