Five people accused of $2.9m bank fraud

JAKARTA (JP): Five people, three of them Bank Indonesia employees, were charged in court yesterday with forging transfer documents worth Rp 7 billion (US$2.9 million).

In their indictments, read before three parallel sessions of the Central Jakarta Court, state prosecutors said Nawan Kawi, the head of Bank Indonesia's cashier section, forged the transfer documents in July 1996 to take advantage of a weakness in an account system in the central bank.

The prosecutors told the court that Naman asked Nasran Amar, a colleague from the administration planning unit, to find someone with an account at the bank who could be used as a money receiver in his manipulation scheme.

Yesterday, the prosecutors also accused Andi Muis, a businessman, of helping Nasran by introducing him to a director of PT Delta Kayu Prima International, who had information about an account number at PT Aseam Indonesia Bank, a client of the central bank.

According to the indictments, Naman filled out a form on July 8, stating that PT Aseam, which had an account with the central bank, had received a transfer of Rp 7 billion, from a man called Dahlan.

"The name was later proven to be fake," the prosecutors said.

Naman later booked the transfer into PT ASEAM's account by abusing a colleague's password. Andi whose password was used was also charged in court yesterday.

Meanwhile, the prosecutors said, Roy Indra K, a director of PT Delta Kayu, who was tried in another session yesterday, went to PT Aseam several days after the transfer, asking the bank to let him withdraw the money for Dahlan.

Roy got 15 percent of the Rp 7 billion fraud, while Nawan and Andi received Rp 5.95 billion, the indictments said.

Several days after the fraud the central bank detected the irregularities and started internal investigation.

The following month it reported the case to police, who arrested the three central bank employees. The police later nabbed Roy and Andi.

The trials were adjourned until next week. (13)