Detention urged for charged bankers

Detention urged for charged bankers

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Antigraft activists urged the Attorney General's Office on Friday
to detain three top Bank Mandiri officials named suspects in a
lending scam to prevent them from fleeing the country.

"The attorney general should consider the possibility (of the
suspects) fleeing the country even though they have been banned
from traveling abroad," said Ismed Hasan Putro, chairman of the
non-governmental organization Professional Civilian Society,
which was set up by a group of financial analysts in Jakarta to
promote good governance.

He said detaining the suspects would also serve to send the
message that the government was serious about fighting
corruption.

The Attorney General's Office recently declared Bank Mandiri
president E.C.W. Neloe, vice president I Wayan Pugeg and director
for corporate banking M. Sholeh Tasripan suspects in an alleged
lending scandal. The case centers around the channeling of over
Rp 12 trillion (US$1.28 billion) in loans to some 28 companies.

Though the three officials have been named as suspects,
prosecutors have not detained.

On Thursday, lawyers for the three bankers asked the Attorney
General's Office not to detain their clients during the
investigation into the case. The lawyers offered promises their
clients would not flee the country, pointing out that a travel
ban had been imposed and that the bankers had thus far cooperated
with authorities.

The lawyers also requested that the scheduled questioning of
their clients be delayed from Monday because the bank will hold a
shareholders meeting on that day.

Responding to the request, Deputy Attorney General for Special
Crimes Hendarman Supandji said he would reschedule the
questioning for Thursday.

Discussing the issue of detainment, Attorney General's Office
spokesman R.J. Soehandojo said only investigators from the office
had the power to decide whether the suspects would be taken into
custody.

"We have to wait for their decision on whether the suspects
will be detained or not," Soehandojo said.

In addition to the three Mandiri executives, the Attorney
General's Office earlier named four suspects from four of the 28
companies allegedly involved in the scam. The companies are PT
Lativi Media Karya (LMK), PT Siak Zamrud Pusaka (SZP), PT Cipta
Graha Nusantara/Tahta Medan (CGN/TM) and PT Artha Bhama
Texindo/Artha Tri Mustika Texindo (ABM/ATM).

The four suspects, including a gubernatorial candidate for the
Riau Islands province, have been detained.

Soehandojo said the Attorney General's Office was conducting
preliminary investigations into two other debtor companies, PT
OSO Bali Cemerlang and PT Batavindo Kridanusa.

"So far we have not found any juridical aspects that prove
these two companies were involved like the four we previously
investigated," he said.

Last Wednesday, the Supreme Audit Agency submitted the results
of audits of five debtor companies to Bank Mandiri. The five
companies are PT Bakrie Telecom (owned by Coordinating Minister
for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie), PT Semen Bosowa (owned by Erwin
Aksa, a nephew of Vice President Jusuf Kalla), PT Domas Agro Inti
Prima (Domba Mas Group), PT OSO and PT Batavindo.