Govt slaps travel ban on Kim Johannes

JAKARTA (JP): The government has banned businessman Kim Johannes Mulia, the owner of PT Delta Marina, from making overseas travels pending the completion of its investigation of allegations of forgery.

Attorney General Singgih confirmed yesterday that he has asked the Directorate General of Immigration to prevent Kim from leaving the country.

Kim is now the subject of an official investigation after suggestions that he obtained export credits from the state-owned Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo) using fictitious garment exports.

Singgih told a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission III that the investigation found that Kim forged the documents to certify garment exports which never existed.

There were a total of 12 forged documents in all certifying shipments of garments from Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta to Singapore, he said.

With these documents, Kim turned to Bapindo last April to obtain loans to finance the exports, Singgih said quoting the findings of his office's investigation.

Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes A. Soetomo on a separate occasion yesterday, told reporters that Kim has already made good on his Bapindo loans, paying back the Rp 16 billion ($7.3 million) obtained through the forged documents.

"I have received the receipts of the payment," Soetomo said.

He said however that the investigation will continue in spite of the repayment because the government has yet to determine the losses it has actually suffered from this scam.

The Attorney General's office has not yet arrested Kim, but he has been questioned on several occasions.

Although investigators have established that a crime has been committed, the attorney general's office is still ascertaining the extent of state losses before it can press criminal charges against the businessman.

Kim fascinated the public last month when he, together with businessman Johannes Kotjo, was mentioned as a potential buyer of the troubled Kanindo giant textile enterprise belonging to controversial businessman Robby Tjahjadi.

Kim and Johannes withdrew from the deal when the government ruled that the GKBI, the association of batik manufacturing cooperatives, should take over the management of Kanindo.

It was in the middle of this takeover deal that the allegations of fraud by Kim's company surfaced in the press. (imn)