Hutama Karya refuses to pay promissory note
Hutama Karya refuses to pay promissory note
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned construction firm PT Hutama Karya
said last week it was not liable to pay a promissory note issued
by its former management.
"The promissory note was issued by the former directors of
Hutama Karya without consent from the commissioners or approval
from the shareholders, thus it is not valid," the company's
lawyer said after a hearing at the Jakarta Commercial Court on
Friday.
Ricardo Simanjuntak of Gani Djemat & Partners law firm said
Hutama Karya's statute stipulated that any nonoperational
borrowing must receive prior approval from both the commissioners
and the shareholders.
"The proceeds from the promissory note were never accepted by
the company. The former management illegally issued the
promissory note and misused the funds," Ricardo said.
Toronto-based Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) filed
a suit against Hutama Karya at the commercial court earlier this
month over the company's failure to pay a US$1 million promissory
note which was due in May last year.
The promissory note was bought by CIBC from the secondary
market.
CIBC lawyer Rahmat Bastian of Dermawan & Co law firm said
graft was Hutama Karya's internal problem and did not annul its
obligation to pay the matured promissory note.
"The third party showed good faith in Hutama Karya by buying
the promissory note on the secondary market. As such, the buyer's
interests should be protected," he said.
Hutama Karya was sued by PT Jaya Readymix and PT Primacoat
Lestari at the Jakarta Commercial Court earlier this year for a
similar offense. The two companies accused Hutama Karya of
failing to pay them Rp 2.3 billion (about $333,000) in
construction fees.
The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, but the Supreme
Court -- in an April 6 civil review decision -- annulled the
decision on the grounds that the plaintiffs could not prove
Hutama Karya had at least two creditors.
The 1998 Bankruptcy Law stipulates a plaintiff is required to
prove a defendant in a bankruptcy suit has at least two
creditors.
Hutama Karya is one of the state construction firms under the
supervision of the Ministry of Public Works.(udi)