'BRI skips proper lending procedures'

JAKARTA: A suspect in the Rp 180 billion (US$19 million) Bank BRI scam, Yudi Kartolo, said on Thursday that bank managers failed to conduct either a suitability or feasibility test before granting him a loan.

He said although he knew the procedures applied were improper, he nevertheless accepted the loan.

"I just trusted the middleman who set up the meeting between me and the bank," he told the Central Jakarta District Court.

Yudi was a commissioner of PT Delta Makmur Ekspresindo (DME), and is accused of falsifying documents to swindle money from two BRI branches, one in Segitiga Senen and the other in Pasar Tanah Abang, both in Central Jakarta.

The money was taken from pension fund deposits made by the state seaport and dredging companies, Ministry of Agriculture and the East Kalimantan Provincial Bank (BPD). -- JP