Investigation into Texmaco scandal halted<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office has halted an
\ninvestigation into the high profile Texmaco Rp 9.6 trillion
\n(US$1.15 billion) alleged loan scandal due to lack of evidence.<\/p>\n
Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes Ramelan said here
\non Friday the probe had been stopped because there was not enough
\nevidence that the state had suffered financial losses from the
\nloan transaction as confirmed by the testimony of experts from
\nthe State Development Finance Comptroller or BPKP.<\/p>\n
\"This is a dilemma. But if there's no evidence of financial
\nlosses to the state, this case can't be brought to court,\"
\nRamelan told reporters.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that Texmaco, a giant integrated textile firm,
\nhad provided more than sufficient collateral for the loan
\nchanneled by state Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI).<\/p>\n
Ramelan also said that there was no evidence of the
\ninvolvement of former president Soeharto in the loan transaction.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, director of the investigation Ris Sihombing also
\nsaid that there was no evidence that the loan transaction
\nviolated banking rulings.<\/p>\n
Former state minister of investments and state enterprises
\ndevelopment Laksamana Sukardi shocked the House of
\nRepresentatives in November last year when he accused Texmaco
\nfounder Marimutu Sinivasan of colluding with Soeharto to force
\nBNI to channel the huge loan.<\/p>\n
Laksamana said at the time that the loan transaction violated
\nthe central bank legal lending limit ruling.<\/p>\n
Marimutu was named a suspect in the case on Dec. 2,
\nimmediately after Attorney General Marzuki Darusman received the
\ndocument on the alleged corruption case from Laksamana.<\/p>\n
Laksamana was recently dismissed by President Abdurrahman
\nWahid, who has been reshuffling the Cabinet to improve its
\nperformance.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Teten Masduki of the respected Indonesian
\nCorruption Watch lambasted the administration of Abdurrahman for
\nlacking a strong commitment to combating corruption, as evident
\nfrom the suspension of the investigation into the alleged loan
\nscandal.<\/p>\n
\"The reason to halt the investigation of the Texmaco case,
\nbased on the result of the BPKP audit, is irresponsible,
\nconsidering that the credibility of BPKP is doubted,\" Teten said.<\/p>\n
\"We also suspect a high political conspiracy behind the
\ndecision to issue the ruling (to halt the investigation) as part
\nof a plan to bail out the Texmaco group,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Starting its business in the textile trade in 1962, Texmaco
\nhas transformed into a large group of companies that manufacture
\nsynthetic fibers, textiles, garments, textile machinery, machine
\ntools, trucks and small tractors and a wide range of other
\nengineering goods.<\/p>\n
This range of consumer and capital goods, Texmaco chairman
\nSinivasan says, are all the basic needs for a developing economy
\nlike Indonesia's and are well positioned to become competitive
\nexports in the global markets.<\/p>\n
Texmaco factories, including a 360,000-ton capacity purified
\nterephtalic acid factory in Karawang, West Java, are located in
\nseveral towns across Java.<\/p>\n
Texmaco's engineering goods, such as textile machinery,
\nmachine tools, automobile components, fabrics and garments have
\nentered markets in South Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East,
\nEurope and the United States.<\/p>\n
The company said its fabrics were widely used by well-known
\nbranded apparel makers, such as Marks & Spencer, Polo Ralph
\nLauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Levi's and Nike.<\/p>\n
Three Texmaco subsidiaries, PT Texmaco Jaya (textiles and
\ngarments), PT Texmaco Perkasa Engineering (metals, machinery and
\ntrucks) and PT Polysindo Eka Perkasa (synthetic fibers and
\nfabrics) are listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange.<\/p>\n
The group directly employs 50,000 workers and had a cumulative
\nexport value of $900 million from 1997 to 1999. It also supplies
\nbasic materials to 270 other companies with 150,000 workers.
\n(rei\/01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/investigation-into-texmaco-scandal-halted-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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