Pertamina?s lawyers to meet with U.S. court officials on Karaha case
Tuesday, June 25 2002 - 11:44 AM WIB
?We will leave for the U.S. and meet with them in August. We will confirm the decision that they had made,? Pertamina?s senior lawyer Simson Panjaitan told reporters.
Simson added they would produce evidence for U.S. court officials to clarify that the frozen funds belong to the Indonesian government, and not Pertamina.
Earlier reports said the US Court of Appeals had recently upheld a freeze on nearly US$275 million of more than $520 million frozen in trust accounts of Pertamina at The Bank of New York and Bank of America.
Simson denied the reports saying that the amount frozen was $261 million only. He added that the $261 million belonged to the Indonesian government, and not Pertamina.
?While in the U.S., we will ask the U.S. court to make sure that the amount frozen be no more than $261 million,? Simson said.
The US Court of Appeals? move confirmed the ruling issued this year by a U.S. district court which instructed The Bank of New York and Bank of America to freeze funds believed to belong to Pertamina, which the company claimed to belong to the Indonesian government.
The freezing of the funds was to follow up on the ruling of Switzerland-based arbitration panel which instructed Pertamina to pay $261 million to Cayman Islands-registered firm Karaha Bodas Company (KBC). The amount was to compensate for the breach of a geothermal power project contract signed in 1994 between Pertamina and state electricity firm PLN, and KBC. KBC is owned by two U.S. companies namely Florida Power energy LLC and Caithness Energy LLC.
The Swiss arbitration panel issued the ruling in 2000.
The Indonesian government suspended the geothermal power project, along with other mega projects, in 1998 shortly after Indonesia was hit by severe economic crisis. The project is located in Karaha Bodas village in West Java.
Indonesia insists that the project suspension was force majeur, and not breach of contract. (godang)