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