BCA executive tried for Rp 396m swindle

JAKARTA (JP): An executive of privately run Bank Central Asia (BCA) was indicted at West Jakarta District Court yesterday for swindling Rp 396 million (US$39,600) from customers' bank accounts.

Prosecutor Muchidin said the defendant, Budiyanto Teguh, 33, the customer service head of a BCA branch on Jl. Gajah Mada, stole the money from the accounts of 34 customers between February 1996 and October 1997.

"The defendant withdrew the money through automatic teller machines and transferred it to his private account," he said.

Budiyanto had apparently learned how to operate computers at the bank from his subordinates -- identified as Kristin, Hari and Dwi -- over several days, Muchidin said.

The defendant then transferred the money to his account after learning the computer passwords of his subordinates, he said.

Budiyanto used the computers to transfer the money when his subordinates went to lunch or the Central Bank to report the branch's daily transactions.

To make the scam difficult to trace, he chose to steal from accounts which were rarely used by customers to make the scam difficult to trace, Muchidin said.

The swindle started to be uncovered when some customers reported that money had been withdrawn without authorization from their accounts.

The defendant was arrested in October.

He was charged under Article 49 (2) of Law No. 7 on banking. The article carries a maximum penalty of six years in jail and a Rp 6 billion fine.

Budiyanto was also charged under Article 374 of the Criminal Code which carries a five-year prison sentence.

Presiding judge Parwoto adjourned the trial until next week to hear the defendant's statement. (jun)