Dharmala executive 'key suspect' in Manulife case<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Capital Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) has
\nidentified former president of PT Dharmala Sakti Sejahtera,
\nSuyanto Gondokusumo as its key suspect in a scam involving the
\nsale of the company's shares in insurance company PT Asuransi
\nJiwa Manulife Indonesia (AJMI).<\/p>\n
Bapepam's examination and investigation bureau chief Abraham
\nBastari said on Monday that his inquiry was focused on Suyanto,
\nwhom he suspected had played a key role in selling Dharmala's 40
\npercent stake in AJMI.<\/p>\n
\"He (Suyanto) holds the key, because we have asked directors
\nand other commissioners and they all claim to not know anything,\"
\nAbraham told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a breaking the
\nfast gathering with Bapepam.<\/p>\n
According to him, the former executives of the now bankrupt
\nDharmala have all pointed their fingers to Suyanto.<\/p>\n
But Suyanto, he said, has reportedly left Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Among the urgent questions that no one claims to know the
\nanswer to, was the existence of a letter of power of attorney,
\nunder which a Virgin Islands based company Roman Gold Assets
\nLtd., claimed to have bought Dharmala's 40 percent stake in AJMI.<\/p>\n
Roman then disputed the sale of the same stake by the Jakarta
\nCommercial Court to the Canadian-based insurance firm
\nManufacturer Life Insurance Co. (Manulife), after Dharmala was
\ndeclared bankrupt in June.<\/p>\n
Manulife paid Rp 170 billion (US$17.8 million) for the 40
\npercent stake, which would raise its ownership in the joint
\nventure of AJMI to 91 percent from 51 percent.<\/p>\n
The remaining nine percent is owned by the International
\nFinance Corporation, a subsidiary of the World Bank.<\/p>\n
Roman, however, argued that it had bought the shares a few
\ndays earlier than Manulife, and therefore Manulife could not have
\nbeen the legal owner.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Roman charged AJMI executives of having
\nduplicated their own share certificates to facilitate their
\ntransfer to its parent company Manulife.<\/p>\n
As a result, the police have detained Manulife's vice
\npresident Adhie Purnomo and Ari Ahmad Effendi, the court receiver
\nin Dharmala's' case.<\/p>\n
Ari organized the tender to auction Dharmala's stake in AJMI
\nto help creditors recoup their loans.<\/p>\n
But Bapepam's investigation revealed that Suyanto pledged its
\n40 percent stake in AJMI to Harvest Hero Limited as collateral to
\nguarantee promissory notes worth $50 million issued by Dharmala's
\nsubsidiary PT Putra Suryagraha Pratama.<\/p>\n
In the same year, Harvest Hero then issued a Power of Attorney
\nletter to West Samoan company Highmead Limited for the sale of
\nits stake in AJMI.<\/p>\n
Highmead then sold Harvest's 40 percent stake in AJMI to
\nRoman.<\/p>\n
But neither Dharmala's former executives nor Bapepam knew
\nabout the existence of such a document, Abraham continued.<\/p>\n
He said Suyanto could face criminal charges, if Bapepam
\nconcluded that he had violated capital market regulations on
\ncompany information that must be disseminated to the public.<\/p>\n
However, Abraham said it might take up to six months, until a
\nstrong case could be presented before the General Attorney's
\nOffice for a court hearing.<\/p>\n
\"We want to be thorough with this one, we don't have much
\nexperience with the General Attorney's Office,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
Bapepam in its year end report said the number of cases it
\ninvestigated this year surged to 39 cases from only 10 cases last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
This year, most cases concerned the violation of not
\ndisseminating vital company information to the public. (bkm)<\/p>",
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