Bapindo trial reveals roles of Sudomo and directors
JAKARTA (JP): The on-going trial of businessman Eddy Tansil warmed up on Saturday with a disclosure that pressures from a cabinet minister influenced Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo) in approving huge loans to the defendant.
Testimony by Bapindo middle-level managers at the Central Jakarta District Court on Saturday stated that Tansil had the support of then cabinet minister Sudomo and the bank's board of directors in obtaining loans of more than $430 million.
Their testimony serves as a tantalizing prelude to Tuesday's hearing, when four former Bapindo directors will take the witness stand. At that time they will give their version of how Tansil managed to obtain the loans, allegedly bypass standard banking practices and take the bank into bankruptcy.
The four -- Towil Heryoto, Subekti Ismaun, Sjahrizal and Bambang Kuntjoro -- are all under investigation for their role in the Rp 1.3 trillion ($620 million) loan scandal.
Tansil, the owner of Golden Key Group, has been charged with corruption for allegedly siphoning off some $449 million worth of loans from Bapindo.
During earlier investigations, the directors said letters of reference from Sudomo, then the coordinating minister of political affairs and security, influenced their decision to approve Tansil's loan applications.
Sudomo is now the chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council.
On Saturday, Apip Sahabuddin of the Bapindo's Directors' Office was asked by the panel of judges whether or not Sudomo's letters of reference influenced the bank's decision to approve Tansil's loans.
"I think that was the case," Apip said.
He also said that Tansil's loan applications were speedily processed and approved within a shorter than normal period of time. They also said that the approvals took place without thorough checking some of the accompanying documents, including feasibility studies.
But the board of directors also had its share of the blame, according to a testimony from a Bapindo branch executive.
Maman Suparman, formerly deputy manager of Bapindo's Jakarta branch, told the hearing on Saturday that he was virtually forced to allow Tansil to cash in on his loans because he was afraid that he might lose his job.
Maman is also being tried at the South Jakarta District Court for his alleged role in the loan fraud scheme, for which, the prosecution claims, he was paid handsomely by Tansil.
He said that Tansil had insisted on speedy service from the Bapindo branch office, claiming that his loan applications had the backing of the bank's top directors.
Tansil, according to the prosecution, applied a total of $430 million loans from Bapindo to finance various petrochemical projects ran by affiliates of his Golden Key Group.
"I have the backing of Subekti Ismaun and Towil Heryoto," Maman said, quoting Tansil. This testimony was given as Maman as he re-enacted the scene when Tansil presented his requisition to open a letter of credit from the Bapindo branch.
Maman recalled that Towil, during a visit to the Jakarta branch, scolded him for taking too much time in processing Tansil's loans. He added that such a visit was so rare that it was enough to make him understand that Tansil should be treated as a special case.
Maman said that he subsequently fulfilled Tansil's various requests to change the terms of the loans from usance letters of credit -- by which payments are made to suppliers overseas upon delivery -- into red letters, allowing payment before delivery.
Maman also changed the beneficiaries of the letters of credits from South Korean and Chinese suppliers to a company in Hong Kong that was owned by Tansil.
He said that he no longer bothered to consult with the head office since they had made no comment on the previous transactions, a sign he took to mean that the directors approved all his actions.
Other witnesses who testified before the court were Tursilo Hadi, a member of credit analysts team in Bapindo Jakarta branch; Pande Lubis, head of Bapindo Jakarta branch, and Didik Suwandi, a president director of PT. Persero Rekayasa Industri.
Tursilo said his team did not conduct a thorough analysis of Golden Key Group's projects upon orders from Towil.
"It was impossible to disagree with the superiors," he said when asked whether he had tried to insist on a proper analysis.
Pande said in his testimony that a bank officer was merely implementing the decisions made by the directors.
Didik Suwandi, the president director of PT. Rekayasa Industri, said his company had never signed any cooperation with PT. Materindo Supra Metal Work, an affiliate of Golden Key Group, in building the petrochemical project as suggested in Tansil's loan applications. (05)