Kim to be charged with falsifying export documents
Kim to be charged with falsifying export documents
JAKARTA (JP): Government prosecutors have come a step closer
to unraveling the bogus exports scandal involving textile tycoon
Kim Johannes Mulia, government officials and bankers.
Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes A. Soetomo said
yesterday that Kim, owner of PT Detta Marina garment exporting
company, would be charged next month with masterminding the
falsification of export documents.
"We are still investigating Kim Johannes Mulia and hopefully
the matter will come before a court next month," he told
reporters.
According to Attorney General Singgih, who recently leaked
results of preliminary investigations to the press, Kim had
admitted to falsifying the export documents as a means of loans
from the state-owned Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo).
The export document stated that Kim's company had shipped
garments to Singapore. In fact, such shipment had never occurred,
Singgih said.
He said there were a total of 12 forged documents certifying
shipments of Kim's garments from the Jakarta port of Tanjung
Priok to Singapore.
Kim, according to Singgih, also told investigators that he
used the bank credit to improve the performance of his Bogor-
based PT Detta Marina. Kim has repaid the government a total of
Rp 16 billion ($7.3 million), the export values as stated in the
documents.
Declined
Soetomo, however, declined to specify how much money the state
had lost as a result of the scheme, saying that it would be
revealed in the trials.
He said that his office has established a team of
investigators to unravel the scandal. The team includes M.Y.
Anas, Lukman Bachmid, Mohammad Yamin, Yonas Kale Saran and
Zainuddin Nare.
Soetomo said that the government investigators had not put Kim
in detention, saying that Kim could come to the Attorney
General's Office every day for the investigation.
Acting spokesman for the Attorney General's Office Chairul
Imam said that the criminal code procedure (KUHAP) did not make
it compulsory for authorities to put a suspect under arrest.
"KUHAP only states that a suspect can be arrested," Chairul
said.
Soetomo said that government prosecutors have not determined
the status of other entrepreneurs currently being investigated in
connection with the scandal.
In an unrelated case, two other businessmen, Abauw alias Ganda
and Jenner Yusman, are currently being questioned also on
suspicion of falsifying export documents.
The government has slapped an overseas travel ban on Kim, as
well as on Abauw and Jenner.
The issue of bogus export documents first arose in the middle
of last year with the allegation that Kim had collaborated with
government and bank officials to obtain falsified documents.
(imn)