Two more arrested for credit scam<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office arrested two more
\nformer directors of Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo),
\nSjahrizal and Bambang Kuntjoro, on Monday in a major development
\nin the investigation of the Rp 1.3 trillion ($620 million) loan
\nlosses at the state bank.<\/p>\n
"Both men officially become suspects in the investigation as
\nof tonight," office spokesman, Soeparman, said shortly after the
\nformer officials were admitted into the "Round Building", the
\npopular name for the Attorney General's Office headquarters in
\nSouth Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"They are being charged with corruption," Soeparman said.<\/p>\n
The two men were relieved from their posts by Minister of
\nFinance Mar'ie Muhammad on Friday.<\/p>\n
Sjahrizal, was president director of Bank Tabungan Negara
\n(BTN), also a state bank, and Bambang was on the Bapindo board.
\nSjahrizal had presided over the Bapindo board before his transfer
\nto BTN in January.<\/p>\n
Both men live on the same street in the exclusive Kebayoran
\nBaru residential area. Sjahrizal lives at Jl. Aditiawarman No. 11
\nand Bambang at No. 14.<\/p>\n
Attorney General Singgih, who was out of town on Monday, lives
\nat No. 30 on the same street.<\/p>\n
The warrants for their arrest were issued on Monday morning
\nand the bankers were picked up at their homes by separate teams
\nfrom the Attorney General's Office at 6.p.m.<\/p>\n
At 8.45 p.m., they arrived at the Round Building in separate
\ncars. They were not handcuffed.<\/p>\n
Sjahrizal, 58, was wearing a dark red checkered shirt, black
\npants and a fez. Bambang, 51, wore a white long-sleeved shirt and
\ndark pants.<\/p>\n
They appeared to be taken aback by the flashbulbs and
\ntelevision floodlights aimed at them and by the barrage of
\nquestions hurled at them by journalists.<\/p>\n
The two men had already retained the services of top law
\nfirms.<\/p>\n
Lawyers<\/p>\n
Sjahrizal is represented by Harjono Tjitrosoebono, one of
\nIndonesia's most prominent and senior criminal lawyers. Bambang
\nis represented by Hotma Sitompul, who drove him to the Round
\nBuilding on Monday night. Sjahrizal came in a car belonging to
\nthe Attorney General's Office.<\/p>\n
"The warrants for their arrest are good for 20 days, but can
\nbe extended by 40 days afterwards if necessary," Soeparman said.<\/p>\n
The decision to arrest them follows the investigation of four
\nsuspects who are already in custody in connection with the case.<\/p>\n
The four are Eddy Tansil, the owner of the Golden Key Group to
\nwhom $430 million in loans was extended and disbursed; Maman
\nSuparman, formerly deputy manager of Bapindo's Jakarta branch;
\nTowil Heryoto and Subekti Ismaun, both former presidents of
\nBapindo.<\/p>\n
The government is building its case against the suspects on
\nthe basis of the 1971 anti-corruption law. Investigators have
\nfound irregularities in the way the loans were granted and
\ndisbursed to Tansil and believe that this would have been
\nimpossible without collusion with Bapindo insiders.<\/p>\n
The investigations against Tansil and Maman have been
\ncompleted and the Attorney General's Office is expected to
\npresent their dossiers to the courts before the end of the month.<\/p>\n
Sjahrizal, Bambang, Towil and Subekti were members of the
\nBapindo board which approved the loans to Tansil in 1989. Subekti
\nwas president at the time. A fifth member of the board, Adi
\nSugondho, has not been arrested although he was questioned.<\/p>\n
Speculation<\/p>\n
There has been wide public speculation that the board approved
\nthe massive loan because of pressure from people in top
\npositions, given Tansil's strong connections with high level
\nofficials in the state bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
Besides violating the credit ceiling, the loans were given in
\ncontravention of normal banking practices, including the fact
\nthat Tansil never formally signed the loan agreement, let alone
\nprovide collateral.<\/p>\n
Question marks also abound in relation to Tansil's
\ncreditworthiness and the feasibility of the giant petrochemical
\nprojects which the loans were supposed to have financed.<\/p>\n
Tansil's debt, which now stands at $620 million with interest,
\nhas brought Bapindo to the brink of bankruptcy.<\/p>\n
Sources close to the investigation suggest that Sjahrizal, who
\nbuilt his banking career at Bank Indonesia (the central bank),
\nhad opposed giving the credit on several occasions in 1989.<\/p>\n
Yet it was during Sjahrizal's term as president in 1992 that
\nthe decision to extend the loans was made.<\/p>\n
The Attorney General's Office has come under pressure from
\npoliticians to detain the top government officials who allegedly
\nput the pressure on the Bapindo board, most notably Sudomo, now
\nchairman of the Supreme Advisory Council, and J.B. Sumarlin, now
\nchairman of the Supreme Audit Agency. (02\/emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/two-more-arrested-for-credit-scam-1447893297",
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