Sanctions imposed on Lippo's appraisers, auditor<\/p>\n
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Finance has imposed sanctions on three
\nappraisers and an auditor who conducted an appraisal of Bank
\nLippo's assets and an audit of its financial report issued late
\nlast year, for failing to comply with existing procedures.<\/p>\n
Darmin Nasution, the ministry's director general for financial
\ninstitutions, said that the sanctions ranged from written
\nwarnings to a temporary revocation of their working licenses.<\/p>\n
\"Based on their level of mistakes, we have decided to suspend
\nthe licenses of two appraisers for a year and issue written
\nwarnings to the other appraiser and the auditor,\" Darmin told a
\nmedia briefing.<\/p>\n
Those who have lost their licenses are Andang Kosasih and
\nBagus Wiyono from the appraisal firms of PT Provalindo Nusa and
\nPT Pronilai Konsulis Indonesia, respectively.<\/p>\n
Firman Sagaf, the other appraiser, from PT Satyatama Graha
\nTara, and Ruchjat Kosasih an auditor from Prasetyo, Sarwoko and
\nSandjaja, only received written warnings as their assessments
\nwere deemed as having little impact on Lippo's financial reports.<\/p>\n
The four were put under investigation last month with the aim
\nof finding out if they were involved in the recent uproar over
\nthe issuance of Lippo's financial reports.<\/p>\n
Public outcry broke out when Lippo issued two different
\nfinancial reports last year. In its November version, the bank
\nreported a net profit of Rp 99 billion as of September and 24.8
\npercent of the bank's capital adequacy ratio (CAR). But a month
\nlater, the bank reported Rp 1.27 trillion in losses, pushing its
\nCAR down to about 4 percent.<\/p>\n
The management has said that the difference was caused by a
\nsubsequent event -- that is, the sharp decline in value of its
\nforeclosed assets. This, Lippo said, dragged the bank's CAR down
\nas it had to set aside about Rp 1 trillion in provisions to back
\nup the lost value.<\/p>\n
Lippo's claims were said to have been based on the appraisals
\nconducted by the three companies, which were later audited by
\nRuchjat.<\/p>\n
Darmin's office's findings may confirm allegations that the
\nclaims were only part of the management's maneuvers to regain
\ncontrol of the bank with the aim of justifying its plans for a
\nrights issue, a move which would dilute the government's
\nownership in the bank.<\/p>\n
The government, through the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
\nAgency (IBRA), holds a 59 percent stake in the bank in return for
\ninjecting Rp 6 trillion into the bank in 1999.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, the findings would also put more pressure on
\nLippo's management, which was earlier penalized.<\/p>\n
The Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) recently fined
\nthe management Rp 2.5 billion ($280,000) for providing the public
\nwith misleading information.<\/p>\n
Anwar Nasution, Bank Indonesia's senior deputy governor, said
\nthat the central bank would use the results as additional facts
\nfor its own investigation.<\/p>\n
\"We will center our probe on whether the appraisers and the
\nauditor had certain motives, and whether or not there was any
\ncollaboration (with Lippo's management),\" Anwar, who was also
\npresent at the briefing, said, adding that the central bank would
\ncomplete its probe before the bank's extraordinary shareholders'
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
The shareholders' meeting is scheduled for April 15, where it
\nis widely expected that IBRA will make a massive reshuffle of the
\nbank's boards of management and commissioners.<\/p>",
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