Anticorruption team focuses on bad debtors

The government-sponsored interdepartmental corruption eradication team investigation into a series of bad loan scams at state-owned Bank Mandiri are will be investigating more companies.

Coordinator for the anticorruption team and the Attorney General's deputy for special crime Hendarman Supandji, said on Monday that the team would probe more companies that have bad debts with Bank Mandiri, pending audit results from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).

"The BPK is now auditing some of the debtors, which are included in category 5, the worst category. Some of them are among the 28 companies allegedly having trouble (repaying) the loans," he said.

Four of the 28 companies that are now the focus of intensive investigation are PT Lativi Media Karya, PT Siak Zamrud Pusaka, PT Cipta Graha Nusantara/Tahta Medan and PT Artha Bhama Texindo/Artha Tri Mustika Texindo.

The team is also conducting preliminary investigations into two other debtors, PT OSO Bali Cemerlang and PT Batavindo Kridanusa.

The lending scam worth more than Rp 12 trillion (US$1.26 billion) led to the arrest of the bank's former president director ECW Neloe and vice president director I Wayan Pugeg, whose detention period was extended by another 20 days.

Bank Mandiri said on Tuesday that nearly all incumbent directors -- not only president director Agus Martowardojo and director for consumer banking Omar S. Anwar -- had been summoned by prosecutors for questioning. The bank was responding to an earlier report that Hendarman would declare more directors as suspects should there be sufficient evidence of their involvement in the case. -- JP