IBRA to allow 2 debtors to go free
IBRA to allow 2 debtors to go free
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Former bankers Sudwikatmono and The Nin King are set to sign a
document today with the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency
(IBRA) declaring that they had repaid their debts to the state in
full.
The signing of the document will clear them from any potential
criminal charges, IBRA spokesman Rohan Hafas said on Tuesday.
"Initially, four debtors were to sign similar documents, but
it turned out that the other two are not available at the
moment," Rohan said as reported by Antara.
The other two bankers are Ibrahim Risjad and Liem Hendra. Liem
is the ex-owner of Bank Bumi Internasional, while The Nin King
formerly owned Bank Dana Utama, while Ibrahim Risjad was former
owner of Bank Risjad Salim, and Sudwikatmono, Bank Surya and
Subentra.
No details were made available, but the four are among six
former bankers on whom IBRA had completed its review of their
debt status -- the results of which showed that all had been
cooperative in repaying their debts.
Their cooperation and repaid debts, according to IBRA,
entitled them to their cleared debt status, which would
effectively clear them of all past charges of violating banking
regulations.
Anthony Salim, former owner of Bank Central Asia, and Siti H.
Rukmana, former owner of Bank Yama, are the remaining two being
granted this status.
All six are among the 35 bank owners who received a collective
Rp 144.5 trillion from the central bank at the height of the
crisis in 1997-98 to help their banks stay afloat.
Many of them, among the country's richest business tycoons
during the economic boom of the late 1980s and early 1990s, were
later accused by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) of having misused
much of the funds.
Accusations were also rife that most of them had breached bank
lending limit regulations, as they channeled most of the bail-out
funds into affiliated businesses -- a move considered a crime
under the Banking Law.
In an effort to avoid criminal charges, the bankers signed a
debt settlement scheme with IBRA that allowed them to settle
their debts to the state through cash and assets. The scheme was
divided into three categories: Master of Settlement and
Acquisition Agreement (MSAA), Master of Refinancing and Note
Issuance Agreement (MRNIA) and Deeds of Indebtedness (APU).
Meanwhile, Rohan said the agency had decided to grant the
"cooperative debtors" status to eight more former bankers: Honggo
Wendratmo, Hashim S. Djojohadikusumo, Njoo Kok Kiong, Suparno
Adijanto, Andy Hartawan, Ganda Eka Handria, Philip S. Widjaja and
Mulyanto Tanaga. The eight have a combined debt of more than Rp
600 billion.
Debtor Bank Debt (Rp)
Sudwikatmono Subentra & Surya 1.8 trillion
Ibrahim Risjad Risjad Salim 0.6 trillion
The Nin King Dana Hutama 15.1 billion
Liem Hendra Budi Int'l 10.1 billion
Source: IBRA