Bapepam: No travel bans in Lippo case
Bapepam: No travel bans in Lippo case
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Amid mounting public pressure to penalize the management of
Bank Lippo, the Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) said
on Wednesday that it had yet to see any urgency in slapping an
overseas travel ban on those responsible for allegedly cooking
the books.
Bapepam chairman Herwidayatmo said that since the bank's
management had been cooperative during the ongoing investigation
into the possible scam, he saw no reason to propose the action.
"They are being cooperative. Whenever they are summoned, they
always come and help us in the investigation. So what's the use
of imposing a travel ban on them?" he said.
Herwidayatmo also suggested that the public be patient with
the investigation, which was in progress, saying its outcome
would be made public on March 17.
His suggestions reflect how his agency has been under
tremendous pressure in dealing with the Lippo case, which has
been making press headlines for months.
Since it first emerged late last year, the Lippo saga has
drawn plenty of attention from various elements in the community,
which have been joining hands in voicing the need to impose stiff
sanctions against those responsible for the alleged wrongdoing.
They argued that it was not only important to avoid further
losses on the part of the state, but to also make sure that
similar frauds would no longer occur as well as to create
certainty for investors.
Leading the campaign is an informal group called the Public
Coalition Against the Bank Lippo Scam, comprising noted economic
experts and anticorruption crusaders.
The coalition -- whose members include Lin Che Wei, Faisal
Basri, Drajat Wibowo, Teten Masduki and Bambang Wijoyanto -- has
said that its relentless moves were aimed at ensuring that
whoever was involved in the Lippo affair receives the proper
punishment.
The group's hard work has so far paid off, at least in terms
of forcing the related authorities to launch an investigation
into the case.
Not only Bapepam, but the Ministry of Finance, Bank Indonesia,
the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) and the Attorney
General's Office are all conducting probes into the Lippo case.
The coalition was established as a way of lending support to
Lin Che Wei, whom one of Lippo's management team, Rudi T.
Bachrie, had filed a libel suit against after the former wrote
articles in the local media, highlighting maneuvers by the
management to destroy the bank's capital assets and shares.
Bank Lippo has become the center of the investigation after
months of public outcry over suspected financial frauds conducted
by Lippo's management, which is being accused of acting on behalf
of the bank's former owners -- the Riady family -- to regain
control of the bank at a huge discount and at the expense of the
state.
The accusations of manipulation broke late last year, after
the bank issued two different financial reports.
In November, the bank reported a net profit and a healthy
capital adequacy ratio (CAR) as of September. One month later, it
issued a completely different report, stating that the bank
posted losses, with its CAR being in the danger zone.