Suspect's lawyer freezes disputed account at bank
Suspect's lawyer freezes disputed account at bank
JAKARTA (JP): The lawyer of the suspect in the HongkongBank
fraud case has blocked the disputed Rp 18 billion (US$7.83
million) fund, which was transferred to his client's account at a
Unibank branch office here, from being cashed by a third party.
"By law, the fund belongs to my client. So nobody has the
right to take the money without his permission," said Ruhut
Sitompul, lawyer for Hans Wowor, who was arrested for deception.
"Therefore, we have prevented the fund from being confiscated
by any party," said Ruhut without giving any further explanation.
The statements are a response to the city police's efforts to
seize the money for evidence in the fraud case.
The police have failed to seize the money from Unibank and
recently tried to obtain permits from the ministry of finance and
the Jakarta District Court to cash the money.
"The lawyer can say anything he wants, but it will not make
any difference to our efforts to confiscate the money," City
Police Spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna told The Jakarta Post
when contacted last night.
"We hope that the permits will be available by next week," he
said.
Hans, a 46-year-old local businessman, was arrested last
Saturday at his lawyer's office at the Fountain Park apartment on
Jl. Raya Pasar Minggu, Pancoran, South Jakarta.
The bank fraud, which is still a mystery, has caused the
HongkongBank branch office here to suffer a total loss of Rp 79
billion. The money is believed to have been taken away by
Philippine businessman Henry O.Vendijo, 55, at the Modern Bank
here through fraudulent electronic transfers.
Henry, together with two other suspects, identified as Tan Tek
Hin and Atik Cornelius are still at large. Tan Tek hin is
believed to be a Singaporean, while Atik Cornelius is Indonesian.
According to Ruhut, Hans has nothing to do with the banking
fraud.
"My client first met Henry in Singapore in August last year
and then both of them agreed to finance an airport project in
Lombok worth about Rp 1 trillion," the lawyer said.
"He was arrested only because the money went into his account
as reported by HongkongBank to the police," Ruhut said. "It's
unreasonable."
He, therefore, urged the police to release Hans, who has been
detained for about two weeks in police custody, immediately.
Due to the wide coverage of the alleged role of his client in
the fraud, Ruhut said that Hans, who claims he suffered material
and moral losses, planned to sue the HongkongBank branch office
here.
When asked by The Jakarta Post whether his client knew the
source of the Rp 18 billion fund, Ruhut said that he had no idea.
"We have yet to check the sender," he said without further
explanation. "But, it might be a gift from God to Hans," he
added.
According to Ruhut, the fund "was ordered" by a company named
Agro Impex Ltd. at Piazza San Babila 3, Milano in Italy.
The "message" dated Dec. 28 1995, and using the name of a
Swiss Bank Corporation in Zurich, ordered the HongkongBank branch
office here to transfer a total of Rp 18 billion to Hans' bank
account at the Unibank branch office at the MidPlaza I building
on Jl. Sudirman in South Jakarta.
"Today, if the HongkongBank or the police wanted to get back
the money, they have to prove that the transfer orders are fake,"
Ruhut said.
"Without being able to show that in court, the money belongs
to my client," he said.
"In my personnel view, it's the carelessness of the
HongkongBank people to fulfill the order without getting
confirmation from the sender," Ruhut said.
But, if that thing happens, he said, "there must be a
conspiracy." (bsr)