Probo named suspect in bank scam

JAKARTA (JP): Former president Soeharto's step brother Probosutedjo was named on Thursday as a suspect in the liquidated Bank Jakarta's credit scam, but he strongly protested his innocence and expressed confidence about escaping from the police allegation.

"I didn't inflict any financial losses on my bank customers or even the government. On the contrary I even helped (by granting loans) to many small-scale businesspeople to develop their businesses," he told reporters at the National Police headquarters.

Probosutedjo made the remarks after being questioned by the National Police for allegedly breaching the bank's legal lending limit.

He said that he had not appointed any lawyers to represent him as he believed that he could defend himself before the police.

"I know the substance of the allegations and I'm sure that I can make people understand that Bank Jakarta is a small and unworthy bank (as compared with other notorious big banks)," he said.

Probosutedjo, however, admitted that the bank did violate the legal lending limit. Most of the bank's credits were granted to his own widely diversified Mercu Buana group.

"We only channeled Rp 44 billion (US$5.5 million) to companies under the Mercu Buana flagship, but the amount of the channeled money was still far bellow that kept at the bank," he said, adding that Rp 64 billion was kept in the bank under the group account.

However, the legal lending limit was set not to exceed the bank's paid-up capital, which in the Bank Jakarta case reached Rp 23 billion, a police source said.

Bank Jakarta, 84 percent of which was owned by Probosutedjo, was one of the 16 banks the government closed last November because of legal lending limit violations.

The police's investigation into the liquidated banks has focused mainly on suspicions of violations of the banking regulations, including the owners' failure to report deviations to the authorities.

If found guilty, a suspect faces a maximum punishment of six years imprisonment and a Rp 6 billion fine.

"I am not afraid. I didn't inflict any losses on any parties at all," Probosutedjo reiterated.

Arriving in a Mercedes Benz sedan, Probosutedjo seemed to be calm and composed when answering a bombardment of questions from reporters. (emf)