Government tells bankers to pay up or else<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib warned yesterday
\nthat the owners of commercial banks who had received massive
\ngovernment support credits could face prosecution if they failed
\nto pay back all their loans by Monday.<\/p>\n
\"If they miss the deadline, we will investigate them on
\ncharges of corruption,\" Ghalib was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
He did not name the delinquent bank owners.<\/p>\n
His statement gives a new twist to the loan scandal that has
\nrocked several of the country's major banks.<\/p>\n
Previously, the government had only stated that it would take
\nover the assets of the banks if the owners failed to pay up by
\nthe Sept. 21 deadline.<\/p>\n
Although corruption is a capital offense, no court has ever
\nmeted out the maximum penalty.<\/p>\n
The government last month nationalized four major private
\nbanks -- Bank Central Asia (BCA), Bank Danamon, Bank Tiara and
\nBank PDFCI -- and suspended the operations of three others --
\nBank Dagang Nasional Indonesia (BDNI), Bank Umum Nasional (BUN)
\nand Modern Bank.<\/p>\n
BCA, which was Indonesia's largest commercial bank until
\ndepositors rushed to withdraw their money in July, was owned by
\ntycoon Liem Sioe Liong.<\/p>\n
Ghalib's office has been questioning some of the owners of the
\nbanks -- including tycoon Mohammad \"Bob\" Hasan who had shares in
\nBUM -- over the possibility of recovering the state money.<\/p>\n
Owners of six other commercial banks suspended in April have
\nalso been questioned.<\/p>\n
Most of those questioned reportedly agreed to pay back the
\ncentral bank loans, but it was not immediately clear whether they
\nhad enough money or sufficient assets to sell to pay the
\ngovernment by the deadline. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-tells-bankers-to-pay-up-or-else-1447893297",
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