Sjamsul, Hasan named suspects in loans abuse
Sjamsul, Hasan named suspects in loans abuse
JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office announced on
Monday that four commercial bank owners were suspected of
misusing billions of US dollars equivalent in bank liquidity
supports.
The four are tycoons -- Sjamsul Nursalim, president of Bank
Dagang Nasional Indonesia (BDNI); Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, president
commissioner of Bank Umum Nasional (BUN) --; president
commissioner of Bank Modern, Samadikun Hartono; and head of the
operational division for the Jakarta office of Bank Umum
Servitia, Wiryatim Nusa.
Spokesman for the Attorney General's Office Yushar Yahya said
the office started the investigation into the four on Monday and
would soon announce other suspects implicated in loans abuse.
"The preliminary investigation has found that the four leading
executives of the banks can be named as suspects in corruption,"
Yushar told a media conference.
Sjamsul, president director of Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia
(BDNI), is accused of violating the 1971 Law on Anti Corruption
for causing a loss to the state of some Rp 7.28 trillion
(US$808.8 million).
Earlier, President Abdurrahman Wahid said while visiting
Seoul, South Korea that he had ordered the Attorney General's
Office to delay the prosecution of three businessmen, including
Sjamsul, who is chairman of the Gadjah Tunggal Group.
Sjamsul is also the owner of an integrated shrimp company, PT
Dipasena, which has pledged to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
Agency (IBRA) to repay its debts to the government, but its
assets have been deteriorating sharply due to disputes with local
shrimp farmers.
Timber tycoon Bob Hasan is accused of causing losses to the
state of some Rp 12 trillion.
He is currently facing a trial for corruption in a government
project and is a suspect in the misuse of money belonging to a
wood panel association he once chaired.
The cases are part of the investigation into 48 commercial
banks for alleged misuse of some Rp 144.5 trillion (US$17
billion) in liquidity supports between 1998 and 1999 to help the
ailing banks maintain confidence in the industry during the
economic crisis.
An investigative audit by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK)
revealed that some Rp 138.4 trillion (95 percent) of the
emergency loans had either been misused or extended in violation
of banking regulations.
BPK said the emergency loans were used for other purposes
including foreign exchange speculation, lending to affiliated
business groups and for repaying subordinated loans.
The Rp 144.5 trillion in emergency loans has now become the
government's debt to Bank Indonesia, the central bank. The
government will issue bonds to cover the debt, but it wants to
clarify first whether there was wrongdoing in granting of the
emergency loans.
More than Rp 100 trillion of the loans were channeled to five
banks -- the nationalized Bank Central Asia (BCA), Bank Danamon,
Bank Subentra, BUN, and the now defunct BDNI.
Yushar said the prosecutors had prioritized the investigation
into ten banks due to complete data and documentation.
Prosecutors have filed civil indictments against four banks
out of the first ten -- Bank Deka, Bank Istismarat, Bank Centris
and Bank Pelita.
They also have completed the investigation into Bank Aspac and
one of the suspects, the bank's vice president director Hendrawan
Harjono will soon face prosecution. The prosecutors are currently
preparing dossiers against another suspect: Setiawan Harjono, the
bank's president director.
"Bank Pesona Kriya Dana, the last of the ten, is still being
investigated," Yushar said.
Yushar added that the office has decided to examine another
ten banks and would soon announce the results of the preliminary
investigation. (bby)