AGO speeds up probe into Mandiri case

AGO speeds up probe into Mandiri case

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A top official of Bank Mandiri and a wife of a gubernatorial
candidate were questioned by prosecutors on Monday in connection
with an alleged lending scam at Bank Mandiri.

Bank Mandiri's director of corporate banking M. Sholeh
Tasripan arrived at 10 a.m. and went through a six-hour
questioning session at the Attorney General's Office (AGO).

Although Sholeh was questioned for a second time, he is still
being considered a witness.

Sholeh was questioned for a possible role in the disbursement
of loans to 24 ineligible companies that caused the loans to turn
sour. Several bank directors had been previously questioned.

Former deputy general for special crimes at the Attorney
General's Office Sudhono Iswahyudi, who was replaced by Hendarman
Supandji on Monday, said that so far investigators had collected
enough evidence to draw a conclusion that there were indeed
procedural irregularities in the loan disbursement to the
companies.

However, he said that the investigators were still studying
the case to determine whether it involved Mandiri directors or
only directors at the 24 companies.

"Now we're trying to figure out who was responsible for giving
the loans to those companies, whether it was the risk management
department or top officials at the bank," he said.

He added that the investigators also studied the companies'
loan applications to the bank, to determine whether these
companies had fulfilled the requirements set by the bank to
obtain the loan.

Four out of 24 companies are under intensive investigation by
the Attorney General's Office. These companies are local
television station PT Lativi Media Karya, PT Cipta Graha
Nusantara/Tahta Medan (CGN/TM), PT Siak Zamrud Pusaka and PT
Arutmin.

So far, no Mandiri directors have been declared suspects
although the Attorney General's Office have arrested four
suspects from two companies mentioned above.

Three top officials of PT CGN/TM -- Saiful (commissioner),
Diman Ponijan (director) and Edison (president director) -- have
been detained, while Nader Taher, president director of PT SZP
and also a candidate for Riau islands governor, has also been
arrested.

Nader's wife, Sari Dewi was also questioned by the Riau
Prosecutor's Office in connection with her role as a commissioner
at PT SZP.

She was questioned for three and a half hours but had not been
declared a suspect yet.