Bob Hasan vows to repay Rp 2t he received from BI

JAKARTA (JP): Tycoon Mohammad "Bob" Hasan has promised that his PT Bank Umum Nasional, whose operations were suspended last month, will repay the Rp 2 trillion received in liquidity credit from the central bank.

"The bank will be able to repay the money," he told a horde of journalists covering his six-hour questioning at the Attorney General's Office here on Thursday.

Hasan, along with several other bankers, were questioned over liquidity credits totaling Rp 141,52 trillion which Bank Indonesia injected into 14 troubled banks, including Hasan's Bank Umum Nasional.

The operations of Bank Umum Nasional, Modern Bank and Bank Dagang Negara Indonesia were suspended two weeks ago at the same time as three others banks -- Bank Danamon, Bank Central Asia and Bank PDFCI -- were brought under government control. Seven other banks were liquidated last November.

The government recently set a Sept. 21 deadline for troubled banks to repay liquidity credits to Bank Indonesia. The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) has been given the authority to seize bank owners' private assets if they fail to honor their obligations.

Hasan, who was minister of trade and industry during the last two months of former president Soeharto's rule, said his bank received only Rp 2 trillion in credit, most of which had been used to finance various projects, including many associated with his PT Kiani Kertas pulp plant in East Kalimantan.

"To support the pulp project we had to build roads, bridges and a seaport," he said, adding that the minimum income from the pulp plant was around US$10 million per month.

Hasan, one of Soeharto's heartiest cronies, said the government could seize his personal assets if it wanted to.

"If they want to take everything I own, I will give it all to them," he said, adding that he was also ready to face any charges pressed.

Suhandoyo, acting chief spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said the session with Hasan was not part of an investigation but was an attempt to establish what had become of the liquidity credit.

"Bob Hasan was questioned in relation to the use of the money injected into Bank Umum Nasional by the government ... we need to know how much of that money has been used, and we also need to find out what assets are owned by the bank," he said.

"The funds received by the troubled banks must be returned to the state," he said, adding that the questioning went smoothly.

Minister of Forestry and Plantation Muslimin Nasution said the government has decided to cancel the disbursement of credit worth Rp 250 billion to PT Kiani Kertas which was going to come out of the reforestation fund.

He said a presidential decree to cancel the promised credit would soon be issued.

Meanwhile, Hasan's lawyer, Amir Syamsuddin, confirmed that his client was ready to face questioning by the police next week after twice postponing the session.

He said his client could not answer an earlier police summons because he was undergoing medical treatment for a tumor, but gave no further details about the state of Hasan's health.

Maj. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, chief of the National Police detective corps, said on Thursday that the police were ready to question Hasan and hoped that he would keep his promise.

He also said the police have postponed arresting four executives from the troubled banks after receiving guarantees that they would not leave the country from their lawyers and relatives.

The four are Joni Basuki, president of Bank Umum Sejahtera, Husni Ali of Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia, Kiki Hamijaya of Modern Bank and Leonardo Tanubrata of Bank Umum Nasional, Suara Pembaruan daily reported on Thursday. (rms)