Sudwikatmono taken to court

JAKARTA (JP): Bambang Sutrisno sued his former business partner Sudwikatmono in South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday for failing to pay US$10 million for the acquisition of the plaintiff's 50 percent share in the Golden Truly Group as allegedly agreed last September.

Lawyer Sudjono said on Wednesday he filed the lawsuit on behalf of his client, Bambang, who is currently in Singapore.

Sudjono said Sudwikatmono, a cousin of former president Soeharto, agreed on Sept. 8, 1997, to acquire Bambang's entire equity stake in the Golden Truly Group for $10 million but had so far failed to make the payment.

Last week, Bambang also lodged a complaint with National Police chief detective Maj. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar against Sudwikatmono for defamation, slander and contempt in relation to the Bank Indonesia's liquidity credit to Bank Surya, which was suspended last April.

Bambang resigned from Bank Surya's board of commissioners immediately after selling his entire stake in the Golden Truly Group which owned 84 percent of the bank, Sudjono said, claiming that Bank Surya got the liquidity credit after his client had quit the bank both as a shareholder and a deputy chief commissioner.