Ex-Bapindo boss says he fully trusted Sudomo<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Former Bapindo president Subekti Ismaun on
\nSaturday provided more damaging testimony on the role of former
\ncabinet minister Sudomo in the Bapindo scandal, saying that he
\napproved huge loans to a businessman in 1989 solely on the word
\nof the powerful politician.<\/p>\n
Subekti told a court hearing that he did not bother to check
\nthe credentials of businessman Eddy Tansil when he came to apply
\nfor the loans with a reference letter from Sudomo, at the time
\ncoordinating minister for political affairs and security.<\/p>\n
\"Shouldn't I trust the word of Sudomo, a cabinet minister?\"
\nSubekti asked back when the judge asked him why he bypassed
\nnormal risk assessment procedures in approving the Tansil loans.
\nHis response drew a boisterous applause from the audience in the
\ncourt gallery.<\/p>\n
The former Bapindo president was testifying in the trial of
\nTansil, owner of the Golden Key Group, who stands accused of
\ndefrauding Bapindo out of US$448 million in collaboration with
\nofficials at the government bank.<\/p>\n
Subekti is one of four former Bapindo directors who are under
\ninvestigation in connection with the scandal which has cost the
\ntechnically bankrupt bank Rp 1.3 trillion ($620 million).
\nAttorney General Singgih said all four will be tried this month.<\/p>\n
The other three former directors, in their testimony last
\nTuesday, also pointed to pressure from Sudomo as the reason for
\ntheir decision to approve the loans.<\/p>\n
Sudomo, now chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council, has
\nacknowledged writing reference letters to Bapindo in support of
\nTansil's application for loans, but insists that this was a
\nnormal practice and that the bank should have checked the
\ncreditworthiness of the client before extending the loans.<\/p>\n
Subekti recalled that Tansil came to his office for the first
\ntime in 1989, carrying a letter of reference from Sudomo, written
\non the minister's official stationary.<\/p>\n
Sudomo's letter stated that Tansil had a successful venture in
\nChina and that he was now planning to invest in Indonesia. It
\nalso said that Tansil was a bona fide businessman and of high
\nintegrity, according to Subekti.<\/p>\n
Tansil also brought a letter giving a general outline of his
\nplan to build an integrated petrochemical project in Cilegon,
\nWest Java, he said.<\/p>\n
Subekti said he and Sudomo also visited a project under PT
\nMaterindo Supra Metal Work, a subsidiary of Golden Key Group, at
\nTansil's invitation.<\/p>\n
He stressed that he believed at the time that the projects
\n\"had potential,\" another reason why the loans were approved and
\nthat the projects themselves were treated as collateral.<\/p>\n
Subekti said things started to go wrong when Bapindo's Jakarta
\nbranch, which administered the details of Tansil's loan
\ntransactions, ignored a number of procedures.<\/p>\n
War of words<\/p>\n
The hearing turned into a war of words between the chief
\nprosecutor Lukman Bachmid and Tansil's lawyer Gani Djemat, who
\nproposed that the court take a look at two of Tansil's industrial
\nprojects, estimated to be worth Rp 600 billion, and offered them
\nas settlements of his clients debts.<\/p>\n
Lukman, in an emotional tone, rejected the offer, pointing out
\nthat these projects also carry debts with other government banks,
\nand that \"it is a lie to offer them as a settlement.\"<\/p>\n
It was Gani's turn to take offense, asking presiding judge
\nSoetrisno to reprimand Lukman for suggesting that he was a liar.<\/p>\n
The judge then ordered Lukman to moderate his words.<\/p>\n
There were four other witnesses testifying at Saturday's
\nhearing, all staff of the Golden Key Group or its subsidiaries.<\/p>\n
Sarjono, a courier who has worked in Tansil's family business
\nfor 22 years, said he was surprised to find out that he had been
\nregistered by Tansil as director of the Golden Key subsidiary PT
\nCilegon Multi Wahana Servis in October 1983.<\/p>\n
Benny Sutedja, a director in Golden Key, said that Tansil used
\nhis wife's name in the acquisition of a plot of land in
\nKalideres, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Samantha Widjaya, an import officer in an affiliate of Golden
\nKey Group, said that Tansil ordered her several times to obtain
\nthe signature of group president Kusno A. Zein on blank forms.
\n(05)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ex-bapindo-boss-says-he-fully-trusted-sudomo-1447893297",
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