Govt makes progress in fake export probe

Govt makes progress in fake export probe

JAKARTA (JP): An interdepartmental government team has resolved to initiate court proceedings against a number of entrepreneurs for forging export documents. It reached its decision after establishing that the businessmen's actions had caused financial losses to the government.

The team had previously been locked in a debate about whether there were grounds for prosecution. Reports of fictitious exports were first made by the directorate general of customs and excise.

"We already have enough evidence to bring the suspects involved in the export documents scheme to trial," Attorney General Singgih said, after presiding over meeting of the team at his office yesterday. "However, we cannot determine the extent of the state losses at this stage as we are waiting for the monetary authorities to complete their own investigations."

Singgih declined to mention the names of the suspects, saying that the investigation had only just begun.

According to a preliminary investigation, the forged documents were used by the entrepreneurs to obtain subsidized credits from state banks.

The issue first arose in the middle of last year with the allegation that Kim Johannes Mulia, the owner of a huge textile company, had been making fictitious exports to Singapore to obtain credits from Bapindo, a state-owned bank.

The allegation was made after Johannes came into public view while attempting to bail out a large textile firm that was on the verge of bankruptcy. The takeover bid failed eventually amidst an uproar over the alleged fraud.

Johannes has since been barred from traveling overseas pending the completion of the investigation. Two other businessmen, Abauw alias Ganda and Jenner Yusman, have also been barred from leaving the country, reportedly over similar fraud allegations.

Singgih yesterday gave an exposition of the preliminary findings. The meeting was attended by the Director General of Tax, Fuad Bawazier; the Director General of Custom and Excise, Soehardjo; and Director General of Foreign Trade, Djoko Moeljono. Also in attendance was a director of Bank Indonesia, Hendro Budianto, along with other officials.

Chairul Imam, acting spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said the suspects had all operated in the same way. They had forged documents certifying shipments of garments which had never, in fact, been made. The forged documents were used to support applications to banks for export credits.(imn)