Maman's trial exposes weaknesses in Bapindo's control<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): According to court testimony given yesterday,
\nMaman Suparman handled the credits for businessman Eddy Tansil
\nalmost single handedly when he was deputy manager of the Jakarta
\nbranch of Bapindo, acting with little effective control from his
\nsuperiors.<\/p>\n
Branch employees who worked under Maman testified in the South
\nJakarta District Court yesterday that they had the impression
\nthat Tansil was a special client that required special handling.<\/p>\n
Maman has been accused of colluding with Tansil in siphoning
\noff some $448 million of Bapindo's funds between 1989 and 1993.
\nAccording to the prosecution, Maman was directly involved in
\nhelping Tansil to disburse some $174 million in loans and
\nreceived Rp 256 million ($122,000) in return for his services.<\/p>\n
Currently, Tansil is also on trial in the Central Jakarta
\nDistrict Court.<\/p>\n
Joseph Sukardi, who headed the branch's foreign services, told
\nthe court that Tansil often came to the Bapindo office to see
\nMaman.<\/p>\n
Gifts<\/p>\n
Joseph acknowledged that he too was showered with gifts from
\nTansil on a number of occasions in return for helping to process
\nthe loan applications.<\/p>\n
But the gifts were restricted to pens, wristwatches, a pair of
\nspectacles, and a tennis racket, he said.<\/p>\n
\"That's my level. Maman was on a different level,\" he said,
\nafter being asked by prosecutors' whether or not he was aware
\nthat Maman had received bribes from Tansil.<\/p>\n
Joseph said Tansil was treated as a special client of the bank
\nbecause his petrochemical projects were allowed to proceed when
\nthe government froze other privately-run mega-projects in 1990
\nduring a credit crunch.<\/p>\n
Gadjali, who held Joseph's position until 1990, testified in
\ncourt that he too helped process the documents, allowing Tansil
\nto cash in on the loans on several occasions when Maman was away.
\nHe said that he did it because he knew that the deputy manager
\nwould have approved it.<\/p>\n
He also said he had warned Maman several times of the
\nfinancial risks of Tansil's loans, but the latter responded by
\nsaying that he would take care of it.<\/p>\n
Maman's immediate superior, the branch's manager Indra
\nRastika, gave testimony stating that he was not fully informed
\nabout the loan transactions between his office and Tansil.<\/p>\n
Maman, however, responded at the hearing yesterday by accusing
\nboth Joseph and Gadjali of acting beyond their authority when
\nthey signed the loan documents during his absence.<\/p>\n
Approval<\/p>\n
He also said that he had assumed at that time that his staff
\nhad acted with the approval of their superiors.<\/p>\n
Responding to Indra's testimony, Maman also stressed that the
\nbranch manager should have been aware of all transactions with
\nTansil given that all incoming telex passed through him.<\/p>\n
Yohanis Djijo, who worked for the supervision department at
\nBapindo's Head Office, said that when he was assigned to audit
\nthe Jakarta branch books in 1992, he noted that many of the loan
\ntransactions between the branch and Tansil were never entered in
\nthe books. This made detections of irregularities difficult.<\/p>\n
Yohanis also said that after the first irregularities were
\nfound in 1992, he had recommended in his report to the board of
\ndirectors that the loans to Tansil be stopped. However, the loans
\nwere continued.<\/p>\n
Maman responded to this by insisting that the books were
\naudited every six months by the head office.<\/p>\n
He said he found it incredible that the head office took such
\nlong time to discover the \"irregularities\" given the bank had
\nbeen dealing with Tansil since 1989.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, when Maman testified in Tansil's trial, he said
\npressures from the board of directors played a major factor in
\nhis decision to virtually go all out to meet Tansil's needs.<\/p>\n
Other Bapindo executives during Saturday's hearing also
\nsuggested pressures from a cabinet minister.<\/p>\n
Tansil's trial resumes today with testimony of four former
\nBapindo directors -- Sjahrizal, Towil Heryoto, Subekti Ismaun and
\nBambang Kuntjoro. (05)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mamans-trial-exposes-weaknesses-in-bapindos-control-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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