BRI boss probe over graft charges<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President director of government-owned Bank
\nRakyat Indonesia (BRI) Djoko Santoso Moeljono was questioned by
\nthe Attorney General's Office on Thursday as a suspect in a Rp
\n572.2 billion ($76 million) loan scandal, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
There was no explanation from the Attorney General's Office,
\nbut Djoko's lawyer Sulistiyo confirmed that his client had signed
\na dossier drawn up from the questioning session that lasted more
\nthan five hours, the news agency said.<\/p>\n
He signed in his capacity as a suspect, the lawyer said.<\/p>\n
The investigation, conducted by attorneys from the
\nIntelligence Operation Center and the Special Crime Division,
\ncentered on a series of BRI loans that Djoko had reportedly
\napproved for businessman The Nin King, the owner of the widely
\ndiversified Argo Manunggal group.<\/p>\n
BRI is one of seven state banks currently being restructured
\nbecause of massive overlending practices in the past.<\/p>\n
Unlike three other state banks, BRI will be retained but it
\nwill undergo massive downsizing to focus on lending to small
\nenterprises and would hand over its large corporate clients to
\nthe newly established Bank Mandiri.<\/p>\n
Djoko's investigation followed a report filed by the Movement
\nof Citizens Concerned with State Wealth (Gempita) to the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office alleging irregularities in BRI's lending
\npractices.<\/p>\n
Gempita questioned Djoko's decision in approving loans to
\ncompanies under the Argo Manunggal group although they were
\nperforming poorly, according to Antara.<\/p>\n
They include loans amounting to Rp 99.1 billion to PT Karawang
\nUtama Tekstil, Rp 66.4 billion to PT Surya Pratama, Rp 57.5
\nbillion to PT Maligi Spinning Mills, Rp 9.2 billion to PT Multi
\nSweeten Industries and hundreds of billions of rupiah to Argo
\nManunggal's real estate unit.<\/p>\n
The credits for Karawang Utama, Surya Karya Pratama and Maligi
\nturned bad in spite of efforts by BRI to rescue them. The credits
\nto the real estate sector had also been disbursed but the project
\nwas not carried out.<\/p>\n
Gempita also claimed dubious practices in BRI's US$50 million
\nloan to PT Mulia Griya Indah, a unit of the Mulia Group, for the
\ndevelopment of the Taman Anggrek II housing project. It is not
\nimmediately clear however whether the Djoko investigation also
\ncovered the loans to the Mulia Group.<\/p>\n
In response to Gempita's allegations, Attorney General Andi
\nMuhammad Ghalib had promised to look into the matter. On
\nThursday, he made good on his pledge. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bri-boss-probe-over-graft-charges-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}