Govt to investigate Bank Papan takeover
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)