Govt slaps travel ban on Kim Johannes

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)