Bapindo trial reveals roles of Sudomo and directors

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)