Probosutedjo's case set for court

Probosutedjo's case set for court

JAKARTA: The alleged Rp 38 billion (around US$3.8 million)
fraud case involving businessman Probosutedjo, half brother of
former president Soeharto, is close to prosecution, Attorney
General's Office spokesman Barman Zahir said.

Probosutedjo is suspected of exaggerating the size of PT
Menara Hutan Buana industrial timber estate, in South Kalimantan
to obtain reforestation funds.

PT Menara had claimed managing a 86,000 hectare estate in
order to apply for a Rp 144.4 billion loan with zero interest,
which it received in November 1996.

But that year's survey reports by the National Survey and
Charting Coordination Agency revealed that the company only had a
50,263 hectare estate.

"The amount of the loan given to PT Menara is equal to the
management of a 71,000 hectare estate. And according to the
board, it's impossible to sustain an area that large in one year
as claimed by Probosutedjo," Barman said recently.

The investigators also found that a high-ranking official at
the Ministry of Forestry, Haryadi, and three consultant
companies: PT APC Agriculture Consultant; PT Betras Abadi
Sejahtera and PT Aksara Ganeca 5, were involved in the case
because they issued recommendations enabling him to secure the
loan. -- JP