Arranger's trial to go ahead

Arranger's trial to go ahead

JAKARTA: The Central Jakarta District Court ruled on Tuesday
the trial of an arranger charged in a loan scandal involving
state Bank Mandiri should continue.

"The court orders the prosecution of Agus Budio Santoso, who
is charged with stealing state money, to proceed," judge Agus
Subroto said.

Agus, the former director of PT Rifan Finansindo Sekuritas (PT
RFS), arranged a Rp 200 billion (US$23.84 million) loan for PT
Dwinogo Manunggaling Roso (PT DMR) from Bank Mandiri's Prapatan
branch. PT RFS later received 7.5 percent of the total loan as a
commission.

The money came from state social security company PT
Jamsostek, which denied permitting the Prapatan branch head to
extend its money as a loan. Prosecutors say the signatures of the
Jamsostek directors on the approval form had been falsified.

Agus avoided trial in March because of a typo in the
prosecutor's case file. --JP