Police seek former banker for scandal

JAKARTA (JP): Police are seeking a former Bank Harapan Sentosa (BHS) director, Melinda Wijaya, who is suspected of selling the bank's assets before it was liquidated last year.

City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said the allegations against Melinda surfaced in a complaint filed by Dahril Dewantoro, president of PT Arta Buana Sakti, a company associated with BHS.

Both companies are part of the group controlled by business tycoon Hendra Raharja, who has reportedly been overseas since the bank was liquidated.

Reports say several BHS branches were built on land owned by PT Arta Buana Sakti.

In his complaint filed with the police on March 28, Dahril said Melinda, a member of PT Arta Buana Sakti's board of directors, appointed him the company's president last Nov. 14.

He said he first became aware of a problem last month, when his salary was not paid and he was subsequently replaced.

Dahril said he believed his employment at PT Arta Buana Sakti was a ruse in which Melinda could sell the assets and make him take responsibility.

He said he came to this conclusion after discovering that many of company's assets were sold during his tenure.

"Dahril learned about the missing assets in February. Some important documents of the bank's assets were missing," Aritonang said.

In his police report, Dahril also cited assets which Melinda allegedly sold, including Gajah Mada Plaza in West Jakarta.

Aritonang said the police were also investigating if the suspected scam had anything to do with BHS's financial troubles which led to its liquidation in November last year.

Police are also trying to determine if Melinda sold assets because she knew the bank would be liquidated.

"What we know for sure is that Hendra Rahardja also owned the majority of PT ABS shares. The cases could be related. We're keeping an open mind about this," Aritonang added.

The authorities are also investigating Seno Margono, a son-in- law of Hendra, on charges of defrauding BHS of Rp 3 trillion. (edt)