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)