Council accuses holding company of swindling

JAKARTA (JP): The City Council's Commission B for economic affairs revealed on Thursday that executives of PT Pembangunan Jaya, a holding company partly owned by the city administration, swindled Rp 3.3 billion (US$471,430) of its 1997 contribution to the city revenue.

Commission B chairman M. Syarief Zulkarnaen announced the findings after a hearing with PT Pembangunan Jaya's executives, led by its president, Daryanto M Pratowo.

"We are thinking of filing a lawsuit to the prosecutors office," he said.

Syarief, a councilor from the United Development Party (PPP) faction, said the firm decided in its general shareholders meeting in 1997 that it would give a Rp 12 billion dividend to its shareholders.

He said the shareholders meeting also decided that the city administration, which owns 40 percent of the company's shares, would receive Rp 4 billion. The remaining 8 billion were given to several shareholders, including the Ciputra Group of companies, businessmen Sukrisman and Eric F.H. Samola, and the Marga Jaya Foundation.

"So far, the city administration had only received Rp 1.5 billion," he said.

Syarief, who was a Commission C for financial affairs member in the previous council, said the city's treasury office confirmed last year that it had only received Rp 1.5 billion of the company's dividend.

He said he regretted statements made by the firm's president to the council since 1997 that it had paid all its dues.

Councilor M. Agus Darmawan from the National Mandate Party (PAN) said he suspected that the dividend had been deposited by the firm's executives to obtain a profit from high bank interest rates.

He said the firm's president promised on Tuesday to pay the remaining dividend after selling the firm's assets.

Agus however rejected the idea of selling the firm's assets, saying that the firm would sell city assets to pay the dividend.

He said the firm, which has a total debt of Rp 1.4 trillion, has several assets, including a head office building on Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta.

He said the building was rented to the firms' 12 subsidiaries which mostly suffered losses, including the government-acquired Bank Jaya.

The firm recorded a Rp 22 billion profit in 1996, but suffered losses in 1997 and 1998 of respectively Rp 119 billion and Rp 167 billion. It is projected this year that the firm will suffer losses of Rp 106 billion. (jun)