Executives of 'arisan' firm to be tried soon

Executives of 'arisan' firm to be tried soon

JAKARTA (JP): Executives of PT Saptamitra Ekakarya, the
company which ran the controversial Danasonic arisan savings
chain scheme will soon stand trial on charges of fraud and
forgery.

"We have been informed by prosecutors that the dossiers from
the police are adequate and that we don't have to summons any
more witnesses or collect any more evidence," head of the
economic crime unit of the city police, Lt. Col. Aryanto Sutadi,
told reporters yesterday.

According to Aryanto, the executives, who are an elderly
couple identified as Sindi Husain and his wife Anneke Kolondam,
respectively commissioner and president of the firm, will face up
to five years' imprisonment if convicted as charged.

The officer said that the police had temporarily frozen funds
totaling about Rp 640 million (US$286,000), sent by new members
of the scheme to PT Saptamitra Ekakarya, at the post office and
at three banks in the city.

"Other good news about this case is that the State
Administrative Court has ruled in our favor that the savings
scheme is a form of gambling, which is illegal," Aryanto said.

In response to mounting concern over the massive growth of the
business of the three-year-old PT Saptamitra Ekakarya, city
police detectives arrested the couple early last month on
suspicion of fraud and forgery. The authorities closed down the
operations of the firm at the same time.

Arisan is the Indonesian word for a periodic gathering of a
group of people to draw lots for an aggregate sum of money
contributed by the group's members.

Unlike the traditional arisan system, the Danasonic scheme
required new members to pay a Rp 11,000 administration fee to the
organizer and another Rp 10,000 to each of two other participants
listed on a coupon.

In return, new members were promised that they could receive
up to Rp 10 million if they actively sold coupons to other people
who were, in turn, expected to become actively involved in the
savings plan.

Before the police intervened, Sindi claimed that about 500,000
people were members of the scheme nationwide.

According to Aryanto, three participants and some of the
firm's employees, all of whom live in Jakarta, have agreed to
give evidence at the trial.

The city police claims it has received strong support, in
terms of documents and witnesses, from several provincial police
headquarters, who have also been investigating the case.

Police estimate the number of participants in the Danasonic
scheme to number about 10 million nationwide, most of which are
said to live in remote areas.

Participants in the scheme are believed to be of varying
social and educational backgrounds, with police saying they
include university students, bankers, farmers and journalists.

Sindi is still in custody at the city police headquarters
while his wife, Anneke Kolondam, has been released on bail due to
poor health.

"She has asthma," Aryanto said. "It's better for us to let her
stay at home rather than see her die here." (bsr)