Gontha questioned over Bank Andromeda scandal

Gontha questioned over Bank Andromeda scandal

JAKARTA (JP): Businessman Peter F. Gontha was questioned for
nearly 10 hours at the National Police Headquarters on Friday
over allegations of loan scandals at his Bank Andromeda, which
was closed by the government last November.

Gontha, one of the commissioners at the bank, went in at 6
a.m., beating photographers and TV camera crews who had hoped to
capture his arrival which had been scheduled for 9 a.m.

At 4:30 p.m., he left the interrogation room and gave a media
conference in the presence of his lawyer O.C. Kaligis.

"I was questioned as a suspect. As a citizen, I would take
responsibility for everything I have done," Gontha said in
response to a question. He refused to give details, but said he
was asked a lot of questions by the police team.

When pressed further, he confirmed that officers questioned
him about the way Bank Andromeda had used liquidity credits from
Bank Indonesia (the central bank), about the process through
which the commissioners bought Alfa Bank immediately after
Andromeda was closed, and about the financing of the giant
petrochemical company PT Chandra Asri in which some of the
commissioners had shares.

He declined to mention the amount of the central bank's
liquidity credits or whether they had been paid back.

Details were issues for the police, he said.

He denied allegations that he was covering up for Bambang
Trihatmodjo, the second son of former president Soeharto who was
vice-president commissioner of the bank.

Bambang will be questioned about his role at the bank next
week. Several other commissioners and directors of the bank are
also being questioned, including noted businessmen Henri Pribadi
and Prajogo Pangestu.

At about 4 p.m yesterday, Bank Andromeda commissioner Johannes
Kotjo arrived at the police headquarters but left after a few
minutes.

Director of the economic unit of the National Police Detective
Department, Col. Made Prastika, said Kotjo was not included on
the list of commissioners summoned by the police.

Police said on Friday that two Bank Andromeda directors --
Nico Malangkay and Isman Dito -- were still in detention.

Gontha's questioning was interrupted every two hours to allow
him to eat and smoke.

Gontha went to the National Police headquarters on Sept. 4 to
seek clarification after newspapers reported that arrest warrants
had been issued for him and other commissioners and directors.

Police however later changed their story, saying that the
summonses were still being prepared. (jun)