AJMI gets new receiver, resumes operation
AJMI gets new receiver, resumes operation
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
The Commercial Court granted a new receiver for PT Asuransi
Jiwa Manulife Indonesia (AJMI) on Thursday, paving the way for
the firm to fully resume operations after it was forced to close
all 73 branches last week following a controversial bankruptcy
ruling.
AJMI, the local unit of Canada's giant insurer Manulife
Financial Corp., is now waiting for the Supreme Court to decide
on its appeal over the bankruptcy ruling.
"This means that we are now fully back in business, and we'll
pay all (maturing) claims based on the approval of the new
receiver," AJMI vice president Adhi Purnomo told The Jakarta
Post.
On Thursday, the company reopened its offices. AJMI said
earlier that it was seeking to immediately return to business
once the court grants its request for a new receiver.
AJMI was declared bankrupt on June 13 by the Commercial Court
in a controversial decision that not only strained relations
between the Indonesian and Canadian governments, but also caused
further harm to the country's already poor investment climate due
to legal uncertainty.
Since the bankruptcy ruling, the company has not been able to
make any business transactions including paying maturing claims
of policyholders. Several hospitals in Jakarta have even rejected
patients being admitted with AJMI health insurance policy.
AJMI asked the court earlier this week to change the first
receiver, who goes by the name of Kalisutan, for being biased
against the firm and having the ill intention to ruin the company
while it waits for the Supreme Court's final decision.
The company also said that Kalisutan was linked to Manulife's
former local partner, the now defunct PT Dharmala Sakti Sejahtera
(DSS), which has been accused of trying to defraud the Canadian
firm including via the bankruptcy lawsuit since Manulife acquired
DSS's 40 percent stake in AJMI at a government auction in 2000.
The Commercial Court named Syarif Bastaman as the new receiver
for AJMI.
But before the court came up with Thursday's ruling, Kalisutan
announced earlier in the day he was voluntarily stepping down as
the receiver for AJMI.
"After looking at the development of the case and comments
from government officials, I have decided to resign," Kalisutan
told reporters.
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said
separately on Thursday that Kalisutan was not fit to be a
receiver because he was not a member of the receivers association
as required by a decree issued by his office.
Yusril also said the investigation process into the three
judges who made the bankruptcy ruling would be completed within
10 days. The ministry started the investigation on Monday over
alleged bribery in the bankruptcy case.
The court issued the bankruptcy ruling after the receiver of
DSS filed a lawsuit over an unpaid dividend in 1999, which AJMI
said was not authorized by shareholders.
AJMI is actually a solvent company as acknowledged by the
finance ministry.
The Canadian government had asked the Indonesian government to
intervene to overturn the bankruptcy ruling, which was rejected
by the latter on the grounds that it could not interfere with the
judicial process, although it is public knowledge that the
country's weak court system is prone to corruption.