BI chief's signature forged

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.