Police arrest second suspect in Lippo fraud case

Police arrest second suspect in Lippo fraud case

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police have arrested a second suspect in the latest banking
fraud that centered on the issuance and selling of fake
promissory notes from Lippo Bank.

Director of the National Police fraud squad Brig. Gen. Andi
Chaerudin told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the police had
arrested Anastasia, a former branch manager of Lippo Bank in
Kebumen, Central Java.

He said that Anastasia was accused of being an accomplice in
the alleged crime.

"We arrested Anastasia yesterday in Jakarta," Andi said.

The move came after the police previously nabbed restaurant
owner Herry Robert for allegedly distributing 30 counterfeit
promissory notes worth Rp 50 billion (US$5.5 million) to Lippo
Bank customers.

According to the police, Herry committed the crime as a
condition for getting his loan application for Rp 30 billion
approved from Lippo Bank's Kebumen branch.

Herry chose the bank because he was close to Anastasia, who
was the bank's former branch manager.

However, it was Anastasia who first reported the case to the
police, saying that she did not realize that the notes that Herry
was selling to the bank's customers were fake.

Andi said that so far the police had not arrested any other
bank officials and that they were still investigating the case.

"We shouldn't rush into investigating this case," Andi said
repeatedly.

Separately, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) arrested the
deputy treasurer of the Association of Indonesian Forest
Concessionaires (APHI), Zein Mansyur, on Thursday because of his
refusal to cooperate in the investigation of the alleged misuse
of Rp 268 billion and US$4 million of association funds during
the years 1998-2002.

Zein had four times refused to attend investigation sessions.
Finally, he was forcibly taken from his bed at the Pondok Indah
Hospital and taken to the AGO building, AGO spokesman R.J.
Soehandojo said.

Soehandojo said the accused was still clad in hospital pajamas
and slippers when he arrived at the AGO building on Thursday
afternoon.

"He was detained because he was uncooperative with
investigators here. Besides, he was only pretending to be sick
since his doctor had already allowed him to go home," he said.

Previously, the AGO arrested APHI's chairman Adiwarsita
Adinegoro and deputy chairman Abdul Fattah for the same alleged
crime.

Adiwarsita, a House of Representatives legislator from the
powerful Golkar Party, allegedly misused the funds during his
term as APHI chairman from 1998 to 2003.

Prosecutors accused him of ordering a transfer of Rp 10
billion to a man identified as Imam Kuntjoro, and of making a
donation of Rp 11.125 billion to the Raudlatul Jannah Foundation.
The expenditures were not in line with APHI's policy.

The Raudlatul Jannah Foundation was previously linked to a
graft case that brought former House speaker and Golkar leader
Akbar Tandjung to court last year. The foundation was appointed
by Akbar to distribute staple foods to the poor in 1999, a social
welfare program that was later proven to be fictitious.