Bambang quizzed in graft case
JAKARTA (JP): Two family members of former president Soeharto, his son Bambang Trihatmodjo and younger half-brother Probosutedjo, were questioned in graft cases separately by the Attorney General's Office on Thursday.
Bambang was questioned for the first time as a witness over the acquisition of assets of textile company Kanindotex, while Probosutedjo was queried as a suspect over a markup loan allegedly obtained from the government's reforestation fund.
Bambang, accompanied by his lawyers Juan Felix Tampubolon and Indrianto Seno Adji, was questioned by a team of prosecutors led by Johny Ginting.
As the president commissioner of PT APAC Century Corporation, Bambang was asked about the taking over of Kanindo group by Johannes Kotjo, a former executive of Salim group who is a suspect in the case.
According to Tampubolon, Johannes asked Bambang to buy the company, which was owned by Robby Tjahjadi, another suspect in the case, in May 1995.
Bambang's consortium held 90 percent of the company's shares, while the rest was awarded to 100 cooperatives.
In the consortium, Bambang owned 70 percent of the stakes; Bambang Yoga Soegama, the son of a former chief of the national intelligence agency, 10 percent; Johannes, 10 percent; and Wisnu Srihardono, 10 percent.
In 1994, Kanindotex's bad debts became public after a House of Representatives' committee investigation revealed that Robby failed to honor his debts to two state banks.
Tampubolon said that Johannes, through PT Acen, then restructured Kanindo Group with Bank Bumi Daya (BBD) as the lead negotiator.
The credit restructuring, Tampubolon said, was approved by BBD with the prerequisite that Johannes had to provide a fresh sum of Rp 539 billion (US$53.9 million).
The money was divided into Rp 369 billion to pay investment credit and Rp 170 billion for improving production and material.
"But Johannes only paid some Rp 258 billion," Tampubolon said, adding that the case allegedly caused some Rp 300 billion in state losses.
Later in the afternoon, Attorney General's Office spokesman Muljohardjo said that Bambang admitted in the questioning, that he owned 70 percent of shares in PT Acen, equal to 119 million shares worth Rp 119 billion.
"According to Bambang, Johannes played an important role in the negotiation of the credit restructuring deal with BBD," he told a media conference.
Meanwhile, Muljohardjo added, Probosutedjo admitted, in the query, over the disparity in released data on the area of his estates.
Prosecutors found timber company PT Menara Hutan Buana, with Probosutedjo as its president, had given different data on the area of their estates for survey reports by the Coordinating Body for Survey and National Charting Development Board. (hdn)