BI chief's signature forged
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The signature of Bank Indonesia Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah is not only good for making a banknote legitimate, it also apparently convinced bankers to hand over a lot of cash to so- called fund-raisers.
The Jakarta Police are looking for three women who requested donations from several banks in Jakarta using proposals supposedly signed by Burhanuddin.
"A BI executive reported to us late Thursday about the use of Burhanuddin's forged signature to collect money," spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said on Friday.
He said money was collected in the guise of raising money for Indonesia Prays, a charity program to help earthquake and tsunami victims in Aceh and North Sumatra, including Nias.
The March 28 earthquake that rocked Nias killed hundreds of people.
The three women submitted proposals for donations to Bank Central Asia on April 8.
BCA then telephoned the central bank and asked for confirmation on the program, delaying making any contribution.
Burhanuddin said he never signed a proposal for Aceh or Nias and ordered subordinate Laode Marhaenis to report the matter to the police.
Tjiptono said the police had identified the three women from witnesses' descriptions and were looking for them.
"We're looking into the forgery case ... We believe others are behind the crime and recruited the women," he said.
He added that although no other banks had reported similar cases, the police were convinced that other banks had fallen victim to the scheme and they were trying to determine how much money had been collected.
Tjiptono called on people to always check the validity of the signature of prominent officials or high-ranking government officials on charity proposals as many turn out to be fake.
"We have learned by experience that many proposal asking for money for natural disasters are often misused. They use the money for themselves. So, be cautious, and always check whether the officials really signed the proposal or the project really exists," he said.