Ex-Mandiri directors face life
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Former Bank Mandiri president director Edward Cornelis William Neloe and two other ex-directors of the largest state-owned bank stood trial here on Monday for a lending scam and could face life imprisonment if convicted.
Neloe, 61, former risk management director of the bank I Wayan Pugeg, 58, and its former director for corporate and government affairs Soleh Tasripan, 49, were charged with involvement in a major graft case that caused US$18.5 million in state losses.
Prosecutors told the South Jakarta District Court that the defendants were guilty of violating Article 55 of the Anticorruption Law, which carries a minimum penalty of four years' imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment.
"The three defendants, either individually or in cooperation with others, have enriched themselves, others or companies and have caused losses to the state and the country's economy," said chief prosecutor Baringin Sianturi, reading out the 82-page indictment.
They approved loans totaling $18.5 million to private firm PT Cipta Graha Nusantara (CGN) without properly examining its credibility and viability and the feasibility of projects to be financed with the money, he said.
The approval was given without a "thorough analysis to ascertain that the client was bona fide and capable of repaying the loan," Sianturi said. "There was no honest, objective, detailed and accurate analysis carried out."
Sianturi said CGN applied for the credit to acquire PT Tahta Medan, which operates Hotel Tiara in Medan, North Sumatra, from PT Trimanunggal Mandiri Persada (TMP), which the prosecutors linked to Golkar politician and media tycoon Surya Paloh.
TMP bought Tahta Medan from the Indonesian Banking Restructuring Agency (BPPN) though a bidding.
"The defendants authorized to decide on providing the loans did not carefully examine the real assets of Tahta Medan. In reality, TMP acquired it from BPPN for only Rp 97 billion ($9.7 million)," Sianturi said.
"It means that the amount of the loans provided to CNG was about Rp 63 billion higher than the real assets of Tahta Medan."
Immediately responding to the indictment, chief lawyer for the three defendants O.C. Kaligis said the charges were "obscure" as the prosecutors failed to define the role of each defendant in the scam.
In his 36-page defense plea, he said his clients should not be blamed for providing the loans which were decided on based on recommendations from various departments in Bank Mandiri.
"There is no way that the bank's directors could directly verify the credibility of a debtor because there are thousands of them. Therefore, the prosecutors should also charge other executives responsible for the loans," Kaligis said after Monday's trial.
He highlighted that normally, as a Mandiri president director, Neloe was only allowed to approve loans of up to Rp 15 billion.
"If a company could get Rp 160 billion in loans, it means that the bank's commissioners were also aware of the decision," he said.
Presiding judge Sudharto, who also heads the court, adjourned the trial until Oct. 17 to hear the response from the prosecutors.
The case was part of a Rp 12.2 trillion massive lending scam allegedly implicating the same bank and various businesses connected to several noted politicians, including Vice President Jusuf Kalla and National Mandate Party leader Sutrisno Bachir.
The three defendants have been detained since May 17.