HK businesswoman wins bank dispute

HK businesswoman wins bank dispute

JAKARTA (Reuter): A court ordered Standard Chartered Bank yesterday to pay a Hongkong businesswoman Rp 247.9 million (US$106,440) after she sued the bank's Jakarta branch for freezing her account.

Judge Zulkifli Lubis of the Central Jakarta District Court ordered the bank to pay Yee Mei-Mei Rp 150 million for "moral losses" and Rp 97.9 million in interest for the frozen funds.

"We have to protect the rights of the community when depositing money," Zulkifli said in handing down his verdict.

In a statement issued after the judgment, the bank said it was considering its position.

"Standard Chartered Plc has maintained throughout this court case that it acted properly and in accordance with both regulatory obligations and best banking practice," it said.

Mei-Mei, a representative of Dragon Bank International of Vanuatu, obtained a temporary court order against Standard Chartered's Jakarta Branch in April after it refused to honor five checks totaling about Rp 979 million.

She had also asked for $300 million in damages because she claimed the bank had defamed her by freezing the money after its internal money-laundering procedures had been alerted.

The bank said in its statement that a court decree attaching certain assets of the Jakarta branch had been revoked.

Lubis said the case was a personal one and refused to recognize that the Dragon Bank had suffered any losses.

Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board said in June it had canceled Dragon Bank's investment license because its operations were not in line with its laciness.