IBRA needs more powerful regulation to punish debtors<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) should seek
\nsupport from other institutions in its efforts to make former
\nbank owners responsible for their banking crimes in the past,
\nexperts said.<\/p>\n
Legal expert Luhut Pangaribuan said that taking the bad ex-
\nbankers to court would not ensure victory for the agency because
\nof the corrupt court system here.<\/p>\n
\"The legal approach is not enough, as has been evident in the
\npast, when IBRA was defeated several times in court.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, the agency must seek support from other powerful
\ninstitutions, such as the Supreme Court and the Ministry of
\nJustice and Human Rights, to help monitor court proceedings,\"
\nLuhut told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He said that it was general knowledge that corruption
\npermeated day-to-day operations of the court.<\/p>\n
IBRA started another round of legal action against five former
\nbank owners who have been considered uncooperative in settling
\ntheir debts to the state.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the agency gave the police the documents necessary
\nto the case, including the files on 29 top executives of the
\nbanks.<\/p>\n
The five former owners of the closed banks are: Fadel
\nMuhammad, the former owner of Bank Intan, Trijono Gondokusumo of
\nBank Putera Surya Perkasa, Santosa Sumali, who owned both Bank
\nBahari and Bank Metropolitan, and Baringin Panggabean and Joseph
\nJanuardy, who owned Bank Namura Internusa Maduma.<\/p>\n
Together, the debtors owe Rp 2.18 trillion (around US$240
\nmillion) to the state.<\/p>\n
They are five of the 35 ex-bank owners whose banks received Rp
\n144.5 trillion in liquidity support funds from the government in
\nthe wake of the 1997-98 financial crisis. Most of the funds,
\nhowever, had been misused, and the ex-bank owners have also been
\naccused of violating the legal lending limit regulation.<\/p>\n
IBRA has been unable to collect repayment from them for four
\nyears, and the government is now pushing ahead with legal action
\nagainst the recalcitrant debtors.<\/p>\n
But there has been concerns that the government or IBRA might
\nlose its case again, similar to what happened with the past 10
\ncases on ex-bank owners that had been taken to court: Many of the
\n10 have been acquitted on all charges on the grounds that,
\naccording to the law on companies, the charges should be directed
\nto the board of directors and not the shareholders or owners.<\/p>\n
Legal expert Todung Mulya Lubis said that in addition to
\nwinning political support from other relevant institutions, IBRA
\nmust also be able to provide proof that the former bank owners
\nhad used their influence in ruining their banks.<\/p>\n
He admitted that the bank owners, or the major shareholders in
\nmost cases, could not be held responsible for the bank's daily
\noperations, as stipulated in the Law on Limited Liability
\nCompany.<\/p>\n
\"Although it is true, the clause has a limitation. If the bank
\nowners can be proven to have misused their positions for their
\nown interests, they could be thrown in jail,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
He said that there were many cases in which the shareholders
\noften forced their directors to lend the bank's money to their
\nchildren or relatives.<\/p>\n
\"The question is whether the agency has a strong will to
\npursue it,\" Todung added.<\/p>\n
Separately, the agency's spokesman Raymond van Beekum said the
\nlaw on company was a stumbling block for the agency to pursue the
\nbad bankers.<\/p>\n
\"We are pursuing a new strategy which will place the
\nshareholders as the ultimate beneficiary of the criminal cases
\nthat their banks had done in the past,\" he told the Post.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ibra-needs-more-powerful-regulation-to-punish-debtors-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}