Golden Key virtually a one-man show: Prosecution

JAKARTA (JP): Eddy Tansil ran Golden Key Group virtually all by himself, with many of his hand-picked directors simply front men with backgrounds ranging from a feeble retired army general to an office cleaner.

This was revealed on Tuesday during the trial of Tansil, who stands accused of siphoning off some US$449 million worth of funds from the government's Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo).

Five witnesses testified at Central Jakarta District Court, three of whom were directors of the Golden Key Group or its subsidiaries.

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Kusno Achsan Jein, the president director of Golden Key and six of its affiliates, claimed he had little knowledge of the business transactions conducted by Tansil although he signed many of the checks, loan applications and requisitions for letters of credit.

"I signed a lot of blank forms," sighed the 71-year-old Kusno.

He said that he had no authority within the group and made no attempt to try to understand the complexities of the business.

Kusno said Tansil owned all of Golden Key's shares although he and four other people were registered as owning some of the company's stock.

He said he never presided over a shareholders meeting despite his position as the company's president director.

Insiders

Tansil, who is being charged with corruption, is being charged with obtaining and cashing in on huge loans from Bapindo, bypassing normal banking practices. The prosecution alleges that Tansil was assisted by Bapindo insiders.

Three other witnesses who testified on Tuesday said they were also registered as directors and shareholders at various Golden Key affiliates although they only found out about this when the Bapindo scandal became public earlier this year.

They include Suhanda, who worked as a mechanic and car washer at Golden Key's headquarters in Pecenongan, Central Jakarta; Suhendi, a cleaner at Pecenongan; and Irianto, an electrician.

All three said they were unaware that they were registered as shareholders and company directors.

Suhanda said his salary was a mere Rp 140,000 a month.

The prosecution also pointed out that Tansil forged the biodata of some of his hand-picked directors for the purpose of registering them as shareholders and directors.

Suhandi, for example, completed elementary school only, but in his biodata was listed as possessing a college degree.

A fifth witness at the hearing, Antonius Widjaya, who is a legitimate college graduate, also said he signed several documents for Tansil in his capacity as Golden Key director, but maintained he never knew what the documents were for.

When asked to respond to this damaging testimony, Tansil said he had no objection to any of it.

During the hearing, Tansil, his lawyers and the five Golden Key witnesses were again the target of verbal abuse from spectators who packed the courtroom gallery.

The hearing was adjourned until Saturday when the court will hear the testimony of four Bapindo executives, including Maman Suparman, who is also being tried in connection with the case. (05)