Aburizal asks public not to prejudge Mandiri case
Aburizal asks public not to prejudge Mandiri case
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
With prosecutors stepping up their investigation into a massive
corruption scandal involving up to Rp 12 trillion (US$1.3
billion) worth of bank loans and 33 companies, the country's
senior economics minister asked the public not rush to pass
judgment based on the preliminary results of the investigation.
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie said
that procedural irregularities by state-owned Bank Mandiri's
management when channeling the loans could not be interpreted as
corruption.
"Irregularities don't necessarily mean corruption. It's an old
concept and state officials should change that. The important
thing is that we should be looking at the end results," he said
at the State Palace on Thursday.
A day earlier, Bank Mandiri President Director E.C.W. Neloe
met with Vice President Jusuf Kalla. No official statement was
made in connection with the case after the meeting.
But Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh has said that the
Attorney General's Office (AGO) will summon Neloe for questioning
next week.
On Thursday, AGO prosecutors questioned Bank Mandiri's vice
president, I Wayan Pugeg, as a witness in the case. This was his
second round of questioning, but he has not been charged as a
suspect so far.
Investigators have said that the first stage of the
investigation will focus on alleged irregularities in the
disbursement of more than Rp 1 trillion in loans to four
companies, namely, TV broadcaster PT Lativi Media Karya, PT Cipta
Graha Nusantara/Tahta Medan (CGN/TM), PT Siak Zamrud Pusaka and
PT Arutmin.
Antara reported that the Batam Prosecutor's Office announced
it had arrested on Thursday another suspect in the case, with the
initials NT, in Batam. The man is believed to be the president
director of Siak Zamrud.
According to Aburizal, losses during the extending of loans by
banks were common and should not be seen as an obstacle to
extending loans to the corporate sector.
"A modern bank should not merely think about procedures. If
lending is profitable, procedures should come last. There will
always be losses in the banking business," he said, denying that
his comments were intended to defend Bank Mandiri's management.
Before becoming a minister, Aburizal controlled his family
business, the Bakrie Group. A close ally of Kalla's, who is a
shareholder of the Bukaka Group, Aburizal was also the chairman
of the powerful Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(Kadin).
Last year's audited financial accounts of publicly listed
company PT Bakrie & Brothers -- Aburizal's flagship
infrastructure development firm -- disclosed that its
telecommunication subsidiary, PT Bakrie Telecom, has a long-term
debt worth Rp 548.2 billion with Bank Mandiri.
The original loan, which was obtained in April 2003, was
restructured in September 2004, with the size of the debt being
cut to $516.7 billion after Bank Mandiri agreed to a "haircut".