Gowa fingers BTN directors for graft<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The non-governmental organization Government
\nWatch (Gowa) filed a report at National Police Headquarters on
\nMonday against current and former members of state Bank Tabungan
\nNegara (BTN)'s board of directors.<\/p>\n
The report accused two current and three former board members
\nof graft. Gowa coordinator Farid Faqih said the scam, in which
\nthe five men allegedly used money from the bank's so-called
\n\"representation fund\" in April 1999 to pay insurance premiums for
\ntheir retirement plans, caused the state Rp 1.6 billion in
\nlosses.<\/p>\n
\"The use of the fund (to pay their personal insurance
\npremiums) was unlawful because the fund was not meant for
\npersonal use,\" Farid said after filing the report, adding that
\nGowa had adequate evidence to back its allegation.<\/p>\n
He distributed copies of the insurance premium payments and
\nsaid the allegation was made based on Gowa's own investigation.<\/p>\n
According to Farid, the representation fund was a budgeted
\nfund allocated for miscellaneous expenses, such as commissions
\nfor associates who deposited large amounts of money in BTN.<\/p>\n
He said that people who took money out of the fund were not
\nrequired to supply the bank with documents showing what the money
\nhad been used for.<\/p>\n
Farid said the disbursement of money from the fund was
\ncontrolled by the bank's treasury division, then under the
\ndirection of the five men named in the report: Wahjudianto,
\nSiswanto, Tito Soetalaksana, Pandansih and Badruszaman.<\/p>\n
Farid said the five used money from the fund to pay their
\ninsurance premiums at PT Asuransi Jiwa BNI Jiwasraya.<\/p>\n
Siswanto and Badruszaman are still members of BTN's board of
\ndirectors, he added.<\/p>\n
Farid explained his organization had contacted the bank to
\nconfirm the matter, and had received a letter from the bank's
\nboard of directors saying the money had been returned.<\/p>\n
\"But it is not about whether the money has been returned or
\nnot, but why they did it in the first place,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Farid admitted the amount of money involved in this case was
\nrelatively small compared to similar cases, but it demonstrated
\nthe faults of the country's banking system.<\/p>\n
The deputy director of corruption at National Police
\nHeadquarters, Sr. Supt. Indarto, who received Gowa's report,
\nrefused to comment on the case. But Farid said the police
\npromised to study the case and would call Gowa sometime next week
\nto discuss the matter.<\/p>\n
Contacted by The Jakarta Post, a member of the bank's board of
\ndirectors, Soeryanto, said Gowa's report was groundless since the
\ninsurance policies had been canceled and the money returned to
\nthe bank.<\/p>\n
\"The bank actually profited from the cancellation of the five
\ninsurance policies,\" Soeryanto said, claiming the bank received
\nmore than Rp 2 billion by canceling the policies.<\/p>\n
He said keeping such \"representation funds\" was common
\npractice at many banks. \"Such funds are used, for example, to
\nfinance a golf tournament between the bank's executives and their
\ncolleagues from other companies as a promotion for the bank,\"
\nSoeryanto said, adding it would be difficult to specify exactly
\nhow the money in such funds was used.<\/p>\n
He, however, admitted such funds were not in keeping with the
\nspirit of reform in the country, which demands greater
\ntransparency. \"But such practices are still going on. That's the
\nreality in our country.\"<\/p>\n
Gowa was the first to disclose the Rp 35 billion scam at the
\nState Logistics Agency, which involved President Abdurrahman
\nWahid's personal masseur, Soewondo, who is still at large. (08)<\/p>",
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