Siak Zamrud denies obtaining loan from Bank Mandiri
Eva C. Komandjaja The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
A little known Riau-based company, PT Siak Zamrud Pusaka, shed some light on Tuesday into the alleged lending scandal at the giant Bank Mandiri, currently being investigated by the Attorney General's Office (AGO).
Siak Zamrud general manager Andreas Sophiandi said that the company was not a debtor of the bank as charged by the AGO since Nader Taher, the previous owner -- and now running as a candidate for the governor of Riau islands -- had sold the company to a new owner on July 23, 2001, before the bank channeled the loan to Nader in January 2002.
He said there was an article in the legal documents on the transaction, saying that the new owner of the company was not responsible for any debts or credits taken on by the previous owner.
"I did not know that Nader applied for a loan totaling US$4.7 billion from Bank Mandiri. Apparently, he used old legal documents stating that he was the president director of the company when applying for the loan," Andreas said.
He further said that he only became aware that Siak Zamrud was listed as a debtor of Bank Mandiri in November 2002, some 10 months after the bank channeled the loan, after the company's client PT Caltex passed on the information.
"Our client, an oil company named Caltex, told us that we got a loan from Bank Mandiri. But since we did not apply for it and we did not receive any (money) from the bank, we went to Bank Mandiri in Pekanbaru to clarify the matter but they (bank officials) were not at all helpful," Andreas said.
He later learned that it was the previous owner, Nader Taher, who applied for the loan, and he was puzzled as to why the bank approved the loan since Nader was no longer working for the company.
Andreas added he had run advertisements in three newspapers -- Kompas, Riau Post and Riau Mandiri -- on Nov. 27, 2002, saying that Siak Zamrud did not have any connection with Nader, nor was it responsible for the legal consequences of his actions.
However, Andreas admitted that he had been questioned by Riau prosecutors as a witness in the case, and that his company planned to report Nader to the Riau Police for using the company's name to apply for a loan at Bank Mandiri.
The AGO is currently investigating the alleged lending scam at the state-owned Bank Mandiri. Prosecutors, who have accused the state bank of improper lending practices to some 28 companies, are now focusing their investigation on four companies.
Siak Zamrud, a supplier of drilling machinery used for oil exploration conducted by U.S-based company Caltex, has been named by the AGO as one of the four companies.
The three others are TV broadcaster PT Lativi Media Karya (LMK), PT Citra Graha Nusantara/Tahta Medan (CGN/TM) and PT Arutmin.
Nader Taher, who was questioned for more than five hours by AGO investigators on Tuesday, was arrested last Thursday in Pekanbaru by Riau prosecutors. Nader's wife Sari Dewi, who claimed to be a commissioner of the company, was also questioned by Riau prosecutors on Monday.
Aside from Nader, three top officials from PT CGN/TM have been arrested for similar reasons. However, so far none of Bank Mandiri's directors have been declared suspects.
When asked for confirmation on the loan, Nader refused to comment saying that he was not feeling well and quickly entered a car that brought him back to Salemba Penitentiary.
Meanwhile, vice president of Bank Mandiri I Wayan Pugeg was questioned on Tuesday by AGO investigators for a third time.
Previously, director of corporate banking M. Sholeh Tasripan, director of consumer banking Omar S. Anwar and director of finance and strategy K. Keat Lee were questioned by AGO investigators.