Govt to investigate Bank Papan takeover
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad said here yesterday that the government is investigating the controversial takeover of the publicly-listed Bank Papan Sejahtera.
"Bank Indonesia (the central bank) and the Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) are still investigating the case," he told a hearing with the Budgetary Commission of the House of Representatives.
He said that the investigation is important to find out whether or not the takeover of Bank Papan was legal.
"I am waiting for the investigation's results and I cannot answer the problem now," he said in a response to a House member's question.
In a hearing with the House's Trade and Commerce Commission, Bank Indonesia Governor J. Soedradjad Djiwandono made a similar statement yesterday.
"Bank Indonesia and Bapepam are currently probing the process of Bank Papan's takeover," he said, adding that the central bank is also studying the new composition of Bank Papan's boards of directors and commissioners.
PT Infiniti Wahana, a company owned by businessman Joppie Wijaya, purchased 22.52 percent of the bank's 74.5 million shares last month through the Surabaya Stock Exchange.
Infiniti's seven affiliated companies also bought another 29 percent at the same time, raising his stake in the bank to over 52 percent
The stock transaction, however, has raised public concern. Most business analysts doubt the financial capability of Joppie, the founder and a majority shareholder of Steady Safe, a publicly-listed transportation company.
Tadjuddin Noer Said of the House's Budgetary Commission charged Joppie with using different names to avoid the proper legal procedure which states that a transfer of 50 percent of bank's shares must be approved by the Minister of Finance.
Securities analysts charged Joppie with illegally using the funds of Steady Safe, which recently raised US$25 million in loans from overseas banks, to finance the acquisition.
Joppie successfully replaced a number of Bank Papan's executives and commissioners with his own men during the bank's recent annual shareholders meeting.(hen)