Bank Andromeda bosses summoned<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Bank Andromeda commissioner Peter F. Gontha went
\nto the National Police headquarters on Friday to clarify the
\npolice summons against him regarding allegations of a scam at the
\nbank.<\/p>\n
The police later confirmed they had summoned 10 Bank Andromeda
\ncommissioners and directors, including former president
\nSoeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo, to testify as to whether the
\nbank had violated lending limits before the government closed it
\nlast November for mismanagement.<\/p>\n
After a brief meeting at the police station, Peter, who has
\nclose business links with Bambang, told journalists he had never
\nreceived his summons. He refused to elaborate further or answer
\nquestions about Bambang.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, the National Police chief detective,
\ndenied Friday newspaper reports that an arrest warrant had been
\nissued for Bambang, Bank Andromeda's vice-president commissioner,
\nand that he had already testified.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post inaccurately reported on Friday that Bambang
\nwas questioned by police on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
Da'i, who did not name those summoned, said arrest warrants
\nhad been prepared, but not yet sent. He did not say when Bambang
\nwas scheduled to testify.<\/p>\n
Samadikun Hartono of Bank Modern and Hokianto of Bank Hokindo,
\nwhose operations were suspended last month and in April
\nrespectively, promised on Friday to repay the liquidity credits
\nborrowed from the central bank.<\/p>\n
\"I am able to repay the money,\" Samadikun told reporters after
\neight hours of questioning at the Attorney General's Office here
\non Friday.<\/p>\n
Samadikun, Hokianto and other bankers were questioned over
\nliquidity credits totaling Rp 141.52 trillion (US$12.87 billion)
\nwhich Bank Indonesia injected into 14 troubled banks, including
\nBank Modern and Bank Hokindo.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that we can repay the money on Sept. 15,\" Hokianto
\nsaid, adding that his bank received Rp 200 billion.<\/p>\n
Some 50 activists protested at the Attorney General's Office
\non Friday to demand firm action against corruptors and violators
\nof the country's banking regulations.<\/p>\n
They carried posters featuring, among other things,
\ncaricatures of former president Soeharto, Bambang, Soeharto's
\neldest daughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana and several of their
\nclose associates, including plywood tycoon Mohammad \"Bob\" Hasan.
\nThe latter was questioned at the Attorney General's Office on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
The government recently set a Sept. 21 deadline for troubled
\nbanks to repay liquidity credits to Bank Indonesia. The
\nIndonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has been given the
\nauthority to seize bank owners' private assets if they fail to
\nhonor their obligations.<\/p>\n
The operations of Bank Modern, Bank Umum Nasional and Bank
\nDagang Negara Indonesia were suspended two weeks ago at the same
\ntime as three other banks -- Bank Danamon, Bank Central Asia and
\nBank PDFCI -- were brought under government control. Seven other
\nbanks whose operations were frozen in April are to be liquidated
\nsoon.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, Attorney General Andi Muhammad Ghalib admitted
\nthat his office faced difficulties investigating the troubled
\nbanks.<\/p>\n
\"We are having difficulties in the investigation because the
\nbankers' tricks are sophisticated while the prosecutors are still
\n20 years behind,\" Ghalib said on Friday after signing an
\nagreement on education cooperation between his office and Gadjah
\nMada University in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Ghalib therefore called on prosecutors to immediately improve
\ntheir knowledge of the banking system.<\/p>\n
In Semarang, Central Java, Antara reported that Minister of
\nJustice Muladi said authorities had tightened security at the
\nHalim Perdanakusuma airport in East Jakarta where some bankers
\nkeep private planes, fearing they might try to flee abroad.<\/p>\n
Ninety-six bankers are currently under investigation as part
\nof the government's attempt to clean up the country's banking
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
The companies of Soeharto's children and associates have come
\nunder scrutiny since the former army general quit in May
\nfollowing riots and student protests. (byg\/23)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bank-andromeda-bosses-summoned-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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